The Naked Truth
by lexie2
Summary: For 4 years Lex and Chloe have been the bitterest of enemies. Now, the Daily Planet reporter is about to print a front-page story on his shady business. Little does she know fate will get in the way and uncover a secret which will leave her heart exposed.
1. The threat

Summary: For four years Lex and Chloe have been the bitterest of enemies. Now, the young Daily Planet reporter is about to print a front-page story on his shady business. Little does she know fate will get in the way and uncover a secret which will leave her heart completely exposed.

Banner: visit my profile to access the link for the art work created by my friend Angie for this fic****

Author: Lexie

Rating: PG-13/R

Spoilers: Freak, Progeny and Phantom.

A/N: The sequence of events in this story may not necessarily follow the timeline of the show. I´ve manipulated the time frame of certain events for my own creative purposes.

A/N2: The opening dialogue between Chloe and Lex is taken ¨almost¨ verbatim from Progeny.

Disclaimer: all Superman and Smallville characters belong to DC Comics and Gough & Millar. No infringement's intended.

**THE NAKED TRUTH**

**CHAPTER 1**: The Threat

The Daily Planet 2007

It was past seven o´clock in the evening and Chloe was alone in the news room at The Planet. She had stayed behind long after closing time, too determined to finish her latest article to be dragged away from her computer.

The previous forty-eight hours had been the most angsty and adrenaline-pumping she had lived through in years. Once again she had come face-to-face with her mother, even spoken with her, only to lose her all over again in one of her catatonic spells.

Chloe had done things she wasn´t aware of- like assaulting Lex in the middle of the road to get proof of his dubious dealings at 33.1. She now remembered actually shooting him when he had crossed her path on her way out of the secret Luthorcorp facility. Unbeknownst to her, Moira Sullivan had urged her- or rather, ordered her with her mental powers- to do whatever it was necessary to escape unscathed.

For months the blonde reporter had been gathering information and interviewing meteor freaks who had allegedly been held captive by the Luthor heir. She had even experienced in the flesh the procedures which were performed at 33.1. The scar in her right shoulder, where the implanted tracking device had been, was enough proof she hadn´t just imagined it all.

She had seen it with her own eyes; Lex was carrying out experiments on meteor-infected people, and she was going to expose him for the criminal he was. She owed it to her mum and to countless innocent meteor victims like herself to put him behind bars.

¨LuthorCorp Crimes Against Humanity. That´s catchy. Too bad it´ll never make it to print, ¨said Lex matter-of-factly, walking behind Chloe.

The young reporter had been typing furiously on the computer when she felt him step into the room. He had done so stealthily, but she´d always had a sixth sense that warned her of his presence; a sixth sense and something else which unsettled her- a feeling or a memory she couldn´t put her finger on. Better not to dwell too much on it for it´d surely not lead her to a quiet place.

¨Lex, I´m tired of games, ¨ she said through clenched teeth as she finished a paragraph.

¨Your audacity´s impressive, Chloe, especially given your recent late-night activities, ¨he said tersely. ¨Don´t tell me you don´t remember running my car off the road a few nights ago. Investigators have boot prints, hair fibres, samples of mud found in your apartment. ¨

¨You´ve had my apartment broken in? ¨she asked him uneasily.

¨They might give you ten to twenty years for aggravated assault, Chloe, ¨he added, boring his eyes into her.

¨A small price to pay to see you rot in prison, ¨she spat at him.

¨You´ve got no shred of proof about any of this, Chloe. Unlike me who´s got the evidence against you locked away safe and secure, ¨he said wryly.

¨I´m not making this article disappear, Lex, if that´s what you´re suggesting, ¨she responded, tilting up her chin in defiance.

¨I thought you might say that. That´s why there´s a Plan B firmly in place... a plan that makes prison look like a picnic, ¨he said menacingly, straightening up and strutting back to the elevator.

Chloe closed her eyes tightly and, stifling a sob, she slid down on her swivel chair. She looked at the computer screen and scanned the article that could sky-rocket her career at The Planet. Her hand on the mouse trembled as she let the arrow hover over the pull-down menu. Her journalistic nature refused to give up, but she valued her life too much. She pressed ´save´ and stored the file on a CD-ROM, which she stashed away in the bottom drawer under lock and key.

Lex waited for the elevator doors to shut before letting out the breath he´d been holding. He slouched against the mirror and tightened the grip on the railings, feeling the cold metal bury in his flesh. He swallowed hard and fought the tears that were pricking his eyelids. He was sure he´d made his point and got across the message, but facing her tonight and issuing that threat had demanded a lot of him. He hoped she was sensible enough to make the smart decision and not print the article. Four years before her recklessness had put him in the uncomfortable position of having to make a heart-wrenching choice, and he prayed for both their souls she didn´t force him to take a similar decision again for he wasn´t sure he´d be able to keep his sanity.

She hated him. He´d only had to meet her beautiful hazel green eyes to see how deeply. She thought she had reason to loathe him, seeing how he´d used her mum, but she didn´t remember she had a lot more to hate him for. He prayed she didn´t force him to make her remember because if the worst came to the worst, he´d have to. She´d then feel what he´d gone through, and she´d learn what her unquenchable thirst for the truth had cost them both.


	2. Knight in Dented Armour

**CHAPTER 2**: Knight in Dented Armour

The Apartment above The Talon- 2007

Chloe was tossing and turning in bed, covered in sweat and experiencing an excruciating pain like none she´d ever felt before, when a sharp knock and a distant voice which kept calling out her name intruded in her nightmare.

¨Chloe! Chloe, are you there? ¨called Clark, banging on the door.

¨Clark? ¨asked a disoriented Chloe, stealing a glance at the alarm clock.

¨Chloe, are you OK in there?¨insisted Clark, resisting the urge to use his X-ray vision to check on her.

¨I´m coming, Clark. Just a sec, ¨she said with a furry mouth, putting on an old terry robe.

¨Hi, Chlo´!¨ Clark greeted her, observing the black rings under her eyes and her tousled hair. ¨I´m sorry to have woken you up this way, but I was worried about you. I´ve been waiting for you at the barn since nine this morning. ¨

¨I apologise, Clark, but I came back from Metropolis really late last night. I should have called you and left you a message on the answering machine to tell you I wouldn´t be able to make it, but it just slipped my mind. I know, I know, I´m the worst friend you could have wished for. I´ve made a promise to you and then I ended up not keeping it, but well... with your own record of failures at turning up for appointments... ¨ she said without making a pause to breathe.

¨Chloe, is everything all right? ¨he frowned.

¨Yes. Why? ¨she responded with a smile she hoped could take her off the hook.

¨I don´t know. You sound strange; that´s all. And I know you´re talkative, but seeing that you´ve just woken up and that you haven´t had your first cup of coffee yet... ¨

¨Are you saying I´m grumpy in the mornings, Clark? ¨she cocked an eyebrow.

¨Well, I remember what you were like at The Torch during the first period, ¨he answered with a lopsided grin.

¨Listen, Clark, I know we talked about what we were going to do about... about... you know, ¨she swallowed the lump in her throat, ¨but ... mm... I think it´d be better if we just..., ¨she stammered, darting glances everywhere but at Clark.

¨Chloe, what´s happened? When we talked yesterday you were sure about it. ¨

¨Well, I´ve had time to think it over with a cool head and... Let´s face it, Clark. Who´s going to believe me? A green reporter barely out of high school accusing the most powerful family in Metropolis of crimes against humanity. It´s my word against the Luthors´, Clark. ¨

¨You aren´t saying anything we didn´t know yesterday, Chloe. Has Lex threatened you? ¨he asked, grabbing her gently by the arms.

¨Let it rest, Clark, ¨she whispered, freeing herself of his grip. ¨Let him enjoy his little victory. He hasn´t won the war yet. The time´ll come for him to pay his dues, ¨she gritted with unshed tears in her eyes.

¨He didn´t touch you, did he? ¨he asked worried.

¨Touch me? He hates my guts, Clark. He´d never lay a finger on me himself. He´d have someone do the dirty work for him. ¨

¨Do you think... ? ¨

¨I´m not willing to test the waters, Clark. Don´t worry, though. Sooner or later he´ll hang himself, ¨she snapped, suddenly flinching.

¨Chlo´,what´s the matter? ¨

¨Everything´s fine, Clark. Feminine stuff, ¨she explained.

¨Oh , right! ¨he exclaimed, blushing.

¨Why don´t you go downstairs? I´ll come down in five for a cup of coffee, ¨she shooed him away.

¨OK. I´ll wait for you by the counter, ¨he said, leaving the apartment.

Chloe shut the door and pressed her back against it. She inhaled deeply as an intense stab of pain pierced her abdomen and a wave of nausea overtook her. Her menstrual cramps had never been so acute, but Chloe didn´t have the heart to send her best friend away- least of all today when she needed someone to cling to. She fished in her bag for a capsule of ibuprofen and filled a glass with tap water to wash it down.

Following Clark´s conversation and feigning she was paying attention to his prattling on Lana proved to be a major ordeal. However, she managed to fool him with some snarky remarks and a couple of rehearsed Sullivan smiles. She couldn´t help but flinch inwardly. She´d come to perfect her smiles just as Lex´d made an art of his smirks and his trademark poker-face.

By three o´clock the pain was so unbearable that no amount of ibuprofen helped her numb the discomfort. Chloe grabbed her jacket and a few banknotes and climbed down the stairs intent on walking to the nearest chemist´s for a prescription of some stronger over-the-counter painkillers. She´d just locked the front door of The Talon and gone a couple of steps when the stabbing pain in her abdomen doubled her up, and she found herself caught by a pair of strong but gentle hands.

¨Chloe? ¨she heard him say in a rich and cultured voice charged with worry- a worry that had to be feigned.

¨Take your hands off me! ¨she screamed, making a few heads turn around and then hurry away as they met the steely blue-grey eyes belonging to the town´s resident billionaire.

¨Can you walk, Chloe? ¨ he asked, slipping on the mask he´d come to wear so often to cover the hurt that her words had caused him.

¨That´s exactly what I was doing when you pounced on me, ¨she snarled, controlling another wave of nausea.

¨I´m afraid you´re twisting the facts, Chloe. ¨

¨And isn´t that what you expected me to do, Lex? ¨she asked, raising her eyes to meet his hidden behind a pair of light-purple coloured shades.

¨I haven´t asked you to ´twist´ the facts, Chloe. ¨

¨No, of course not. You´ve asked me to bury them, ´she gasped, inadvertently clutching at Lex´s arm to steady herself.

¨Let me drive you to the medical centre, Chloe. You don´t look well, ¨he offered, noticing her complexion had turned ashen.

¨I´ll go back to The Talon and lie down, ¨she answered stubbornly.

¨Don´t be hard-headed, Chloe. You need medical attention, ¨he said gravely.

¨Cramps, Luthor. They´re just cramps, ¨she hissed. ¨With your revolving door of women I´m sure you know what that means, ¨she muttered.

¨Have they ever been this intense? ¨

¨Since when are you a certified M.D., Lex? I´m not speaking with you about my... ¨she gasped again before passing out and ending up in Lex´s arms.

The billionaire checked her pulse with shaky fingers and breathed relieved when he felt the steady beating. He brushed some unruly blonde hairs off her face and, swallowing the lump in his throat, picked her limp body up to carry her straight to the sports car he´d parked a few steps away from the coffee shop.

Once he had her secured in the passenger seat, he shut the door and walked around the Porsche under the attentive look of a couple of townspeople who eyed him suspiciously. Considering he had such a precious cargo in bad need of medical attention sitting unconscious in the car, Lex thought they could go to the devil for all he cared.

He drove to Smallville Medical Center at a breakneck speed and screeched to a halt in front of the ER entrance in time to see Chloe come round in a daze. He killed the engine and turned in his seat to unfasten the seat belt which was restraining Chloe´s movements.

¨What are you doing? ¨she asked weakly.

¨I´m making sure you get the attention you need, ¨he stated matter-of-factly.

¨I told you... ¨

¨Why don´t you stop this nonsense, Chloe? You loathe me. You don´t have to go out of your way to make it clearer, but you need a doctor. ¨

¨I know what I need, ¨she responded, recoiling from his touch.

¨The hell you do, ¨he said through clenched teeth.

¨You´ve already got what you wanted. Now, leave me alone, Lex., ¨she sobbed, stepping out of the sports car and slamming the door shut.

¨Chloe! ¨ he shouted, seeing her legs wobble and her body collapse on the pavement.

¨I need a doctor! ¨boomed Lex, walking through the ER doors, carrying an unconscious Chloe in his arms.

¨Can you tell me what´s happened to her? ¨asked the female doctor on duty as Lex lowered Chloe on a gurney and the physician checked her pupils with a flashlight.

¨It´s the second time she passes out in the last ten minutes, ¨explained Lex short of breath. ¨She´s got intense abdominal pains. ¨

¨Has she vomited? ¨

¨Not since I´m with her, but I wouldn´t know if she threw up earlier. ¨

¨We can rule out peritonitis, ¨sighed the doctor, looking at the blood which was starting to soak her beige trousers.

¨She said... they were... menstrual cramps, ¨muttered Lex, looking at Chloe´s translucent complexion.

¨I´m not sure all this blood´s her period, Mr Luthor, ¨frowned the physician. ¨We´ll need a sonogram right now, Cynthia, ¨she told an intern. ¨Paul, tell Dr Phillips we have an emergency, and prepare an OR stat, ¨she ordered the nurse. ¨Mr Luthor, let us do our work, please. I´ll come to you as soon as we´ve got news, ¨she added, addressing a blanched Lex, who stood with a lost look in his eyes. ¨Mr Luthor, ¨she insisted, shaking him slightly. ¨Please. Wait outside. Cynthia, could you ... ¨

¨Certainly, doctor. Come this way, Mr Luthor, ¨ the intern urged him, ushering Lex outside.

Lex felt a sudden wave of nausea when the intern left him to assist the physician with the sonogram. He´d always hated hospitals. The smell of disinfectant and death which invaded every nook and cranny had always given him the creeps. Spending three-quarters of his life as a near-permanent resident didn´t precisely help either. He´d sworn he´d never set foot in one of them again, not after what he´d gone through four years before. However, destiny constantly sought to mock him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Being one of the country´s wealthiest men was no protection against misfortune as he knew only too well.

¨Mr Luthor, ¨called a grey-haired doctor, taking Lex out of his reveries. ¨I´m Dr Phillips. It´s my understanding you´ve brought Miss Sullivan to the ER. ¨

¨That´s right, doctor. What´s wrong with her? ¨he asked coolly, clenching his fists.

¨Is there someone we can contact? Do you know something about her parents? ¨

¨Her dad´s dead, and her mum... ¨explained Lex, swallowing hard. ¨There´s no family in Smallville. She´s got an uncle and a cousin, but they live away... ¨

¨That certainly poses a problem. You see... Miss Sullivan has to be operated on immediately. She´s been bleeding profusely. We´ve given her something to stop the haemorrhage and started with the transfusions, but this isn´t something we can fix with a prescription. ¨

¨Is she... is she preg... ? ¨ he mumbled.

¨No, it isn´t a miscarriage. We´ve seen a shadow in the sonogram. ¨

¨A tumour? ¨

¨We can´t be certain until we operate and we need someone to authorise the procedure. Would you? ¨

¨I... ¨he hesitated.

¨Mr Luthor, we need you to sign. ¨

¨Could I... Could I have a word with you in private, please? ¨

¨What you´re asking me to do is highly irregular, Mr Luthor, ¨said the doctor, shaking his head.

¨Think of her well-being, doctor. ¨

¨You´re asking me to lie to her. ¨

¨I´m asking you to protect her from the truth. ¨

¨She doesn´t know? ¨the physician asked in disbelief.

¨She must never know. ¨

¨But... ¨

¨It´s not your call, Dr Phillips. ¨

¨I´ve got a duty, Mr Luthor. If when we open, we prove this is the result of malpractice, I´ll have to report it to the Board of Medicine. ¨

¨Leave it in my hands, doctor. ¨

¨What do you mean with that? ¨

¨The least you know the better, Dr Phillips. Give me the papers, ¨he answered, stretching out his hand to take the document. ¨I´ll cover all the expenses, of course. My physician´ll fly in from Metropolis, and I want you to give Miss Sullivan a private room. ¨

¨Certainly, Mr Luthor. But... don´t you think you should at least tell her... ?¨

¨What for, Dr Phillips? ¨he asked with a sad smile.


	3. Everything he Held Precious

CHAPTER 3: Everything he Held Precious

The Sullivans´ Safe House- 2003

Lex stepped out of the taxi in front of the suburban house the Sullivans were living in while awaiting Lionel´s murder trial. He had got a call from Gabe early in the morning asking him to come over. The older man hadn´t said much about the reason behind his call, but Lex knew him well enough to conclude there was something serious on his mind.

¨Gabe, ¨ Lex greeted him with a small smile.

¨Mr Luthor, ¨answered Gabe, holding the door open to let him in.

¨I thought we´d agreed you´d start calling me by my first name, Gabe. ¨

¨I´m sorry, Lex, ¨he apologised, stressing the name. ¨I can´t seem to get used to it. ¨

¨Where´s Chloe? ¨asked the young billionaire, letting his eyes roam around the living room.

¨She´s lying down upstairs. ¨

¨She´s OK, isn´t she? ¨

¨Yeah, yeah, ¨he tried to reassure Lex. ¨Why don´t you sit down? Would you like something to drink? ¨

¨Something cold´d be nice. ¨

¨An orange juice? ¨

¨Sure. Tell me, Gabe, what´s bothering you? You sounded worried on the phone.¨

¨Here you are, ¨said Gabe, giving him the glass of orange juice and setting a coaster down on the coffee table. ¨It´s Chloe. ¨

¨You´ve just said everything´s fine with her. You know, Gabe, I´d rather we... ¨

¨I know, Lex. I´m aware of how things stand and that nothing can be done until the trial´s over, believe me. But... you know her... ¨ he sighed, getting up and starting to pace up and down the room. ¨I´ve told her a hundred times she can´t wander about on her own; least of all now! But she´s hard-headed, Lex. I don´t know what she´s up to, but she´s up to something all right, ¨said Gabe, shaking his head and combing his hair with nervous fingers. ¨I didn´t know what to do, Lex. I called you to see if you can knock some sense into her, seeing that... .¨

¨What room´s she sleeping in, Gabe? ¨ he asked through gritted teeth.

¨Lex, don´t be too harsh. ¨

¨She´s got a lot to think of, Gabe. She cannot wander about town, snooping God knows where! ¨he exploded.

Lex climbed up the steps two at a time ready to give Chloe a piece of his mind. As he approached the bedroom at the end of the corridor, he made an effort to cool down. No matter how much he wanted to wring Chloe´s neck for being so reckless, circumstances demanded he tackle things firmly but with kid gloves. Although he knew that she could be as strong-willed and determined as he was when her mind was set on something, they just couldn´t afford it.

He took a deep breath and turned the doorknob quietly without bothering to knock beforehand. Chloe was lying on the duvet fast asleep, her skin a little flushed and her blond hair- which she had grown shoulder length- spread out on the pillow. Lex stepped into the room and closed the door silently behind him.

Seeing her so vulnerable in her sleep did nothing but double his resolve to make her see the danger entailed in pursuing any of her usual investigative exploits when Lionel was still awaiting his sentence. Lex had been able to prevent both Chloe and Gabe´s deaths in the explosion of the safe house the FBI had assigned them, but he didn´t delude himself; as long as his dad was alive and kicking, he would find it extremely hard to protect her- or them, for that matter.

His being in her room now was a serious breach of the protocol they were supposed to follow in order to secure the family´s safety, but Gabe´s phone call had scared him witless.

¨Hey, ¨murmured a sleepy Chloe, waking up when she felt him sit down on the bed and brush a few strands of hair away from her face.

Lex looked into her beautiful green eyes and then caressed her beloved features with his warm gaze.

¨How come you´re here, Lex? ¨she asked in a raspy voice.

¨Chloe, what do you think you´re doing? ¨he answered worriedly.

¨What do you mean, Lex? ¨she frowned.

¨You know damn well what I mean. Is this your way of telling me you don´t want anything I have to give? ¨he asked grimly.

¨What are you talking about, Lex? ¨

¨Snooping around like that, Chloe, when there´s still a chance my father can get off the hook... it´s suicide. Not just suicide... it´s... ¨he added bitterly, lowering his gaze. ¨Do you resent me, Chloe? Is it because you regret... ? ¨he started to ask Chloe only to be cut off by the sweet assault of her lips on his mouth.

They clung to each other as if there were no tomorrow, and Lex felt his heart swell with the love she poured into every kiss and every caress. He had been so hungry for affection for so long- and he had got burnt so many times- he wanted to believe what they had was real. He needed so much for her to tell him he was what she wanted, that he hadn´t been just a substitute for someone that could never be hers.

A sob was heard amidst the satisfied moans and sighs, and Lex felt Chloe´s hands moving up and down his back soothingly. The sound had come out of his mouth and, for once, he wasn´t embarrassed to appear weak in front of someone. Chloe brushed his lips with hers once again and, nibbling at his lower lip, she asked him to let her assuage his pain with a kiss more feverish that the ones they had shared before. Lex could taste his own tears on her lips and heard her whisper against his mouth.

¨I love you, Lex. Never doubt what we have. ¨

¨Then, why? ¨he asked, cupping her face in his hands.

¨I know of someone who can help us send your dad to the chair or, at least, make sure they lock him up and throw away the key, ¨she explained, caressing his cheek.

¨Tell me who it is, and I´ll meet him, ¨he said, leaning into her caress.

¨I can´t. He´ll only talk with me. ¨

¨Then, we´ll have to make do with what we have, ¨he said gravely.

¨Lex... ¨

¨Chloe, no matter how deep my desire to make my dad pay for everything he´s done, I´m not willing to risk losing you, ¨he cut her off.

¨You shouldn´t worry so much about us, Lex. We´ll be OK. ¨

¨Promise me you won´t do anything rash. ¨

¨I promise, ¨she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

¨Chloe, ¨he warned her, grabbing her tightly by the arms.

¨Don´t you remember what he put you through, Lex? Are you going to let the opportunity to secure a definitely damaging testimony slip away? ¨

¨There are other ways, Chloe. Just tell me who this witness is and I´ll make sure he tells his story. ¨

¨He won´t talk to you, Lex. He doesn´t trust anyone. ¨

¨You mean he doesn´t trust a Luthor. Does he know? ¨

¨He knows I´ve been threatened by your dad. ¨

¨So he doesn´t know about us. ¨

¨I believe we´ve been discreet, Lex. ¨

¨You believe? ¨he smirked, looking down at her lying next to him.

¨Well... only dad knows. And being cooped up here, you were the only possible candidate. ¨

¨You mean if you´d had your way before you wouldn´t have given me the light of day? ¨

¨You know that´s not true. You´re smart enough to understand what I meant. ¨

¨What about Clark? ¨he asked seriously.

¨Why bring up Clark now, Lex? ¨

¨Do you still have feelings for him? ¨

¨Of course, I do, ¨she stated, seeing him tense. ¨Relax, Lex. Gee! How can somebody who exudes so much confidence be so insecure about his own capacity to win and retain somebody´s affection? ¨

¨Experience. ¨

¨Well, I may not be as experienced as you are, Lex, but rest assured that when I give somebody my love and friendship, it´s forever. ¨

¨We´re talking about Clark here. ¨

¨Not just Clark, Lex. What do I have to do to show you what I feel for you is deep and real? ¨

¨I´m not Clark, Chloe. ¨

¨Who´s asked you to be Clark, Lex? It´s not him I gave myself to. It´s not his... ¨she stammered.

¨You can´t even say the word, ¨he stormed, leaving her side.

¨What is this all about, Lex? ¨

¨Can you honestly say this isn´t an unconscious way of putting an end to something you´ve never wanted in the first place? ¨

¨What are you implying? ¨she frowned.

¨I´m a bad seed, Chloe. ¨

¨I know who you are, Lex. I´m not naïve. I´m aware you aren´t the regular knight in shining armour. I would never ask you not to be yourself. It´s you I fell in love with, not a stupid image on a pedestal. And how dare you? ¨she asked, raising her voice in reproach. ¨What gives you the right to suggest... ? ¨she added with tears in her eyes.

¨It´s all right, baby, ¨he choked, kneeling down next to her bed and wrapping his arms round her waist. ¨I´m sorry.¨

¨You´re such a lovesick baby, Lex, ¨she murmured, pressing a kiss on the top of his scalp as he leant into her.

¨I don´t know what I´d do if something happened to you. If anybody ever laid a finger on you... ¨

¨Nothing´ll happen, Lex. You won´t let anything happen to us. ¨

How wrong she´d been. His dad´s tentacles were far-reaching and they had cost lives and the destruction of everything Lex held precious. She didn´t remember, and he thanked God for sparing her the hurt- he hadn´t been that lucky. Lex could feel his heart break into a thousand pieces each time their paths crossed and he read that look of hatred in her eyes- hatred for something he had let her believe was the truth when, in reality, the truth was so much worse.


	4. Why do you Care?

**CHAPTER 4**: Why do you care?

SMALLVILLE MEDICAL CENTER-2007

¨Mr Luthor, she´s ready for surgery. Would you like to see her before she enters the operating room? ¨

¨What´s the prognosis, doctor? ¨he asked, trying to keep his composure.

¨She´s lost a lot of blood but is stable now. However, I can´t lie to you; this´ll be a complex surgery, ¨said the surgeon sympathetically. ¨If I were her, I´d like to know there´ll someone there for me, waiting for me to come out. ¨

¨I´m not the one she wants to see, ¨he responded grimly.

¨You brought her here and, considering what we´ve talked in private... ¨

¨It´ll make things worse, doctor. She hates my guts. ¨

¨Have you tried... ? ¨

¨I´m sorry, doctor. There´s more to this than what I´ve told you. You wouldn´t understand, and I really don´t feel like sharing my private life with a complete stranger. I hope you won´t take offence... ¨

¨Of course not. I´m just thinking of what´s best for my patient. ¨

¨Then, believe me when I say I´m not what she needs right now. ¨

¨And what about what you need? ¨

¨I can´t indulge in the luxury of thinking about me right now, doctor. ¨

¨She should hear what you´ve just said. There might be a chance of her not hating you so much were she to know how deep you care for her. ¨

¨It´s the only way I know of protecting her. ¨

¨Protecting her? ¨

¨As I said before, you wouldn´t understand and you´re wasting precious time. ¨

¨Don´t let her enter that operating room without seeing the face of someone she knows, ¨finished the surgeon, squeezing Lex´s arm and walking up the corridor to get ready.

Lex debated with himself whether it was wise to step into Chloe´s room knowing how things stood between them. The doctor´s words had sunk in more deeply than he cared to admit. They had reminded him of Lillian and the fact that he hadn´t been allowed to see her before she passed away. He had been deprived of that last consolation. Chloe´s situation might not be the same, but he doubted she´d ever let him get near her again.

He knew she´d want to see Clark by her side, and he toyed with the mobile in his pocket torn between what he wanted to do and what should be done. Still, his selfish streak won the battle, and he decided to put off the call till later.

Donning scrubs and booties, Lex opened the door to the sterile room. His eyes were immediately drawn to the fragile-looking young woman on the bed- and he felt his stomach tie up in knots. The usually feisty and fiery blonde was lying on her side with her eyes closed when he walked in. Her initial immobility had scared him so much that, believing she wasn´t breathing, he had rushed to her bedside only to see her eyelids flutter open and her beautiful green orbs focus on his face. Lex got lost in those green pools he had come to love so much and saw the tears suddenly well up.

¨Chloe, ¨he murmured, feeling a big lump in his throat.

She stifled a sob and rolled over to avoid holding his gaze. She hated the whole situation, appearing weak in front of Lex of all people when she needed him to see she wasn´t someone he could manipulate with his threats.

Lex closed his eyes and clenched his fists when she turned her back to him. He felt so helpless and loathed the sensation.

¨Just go away, Lex, ¨she rasped. ¨This won´t earn you any points. ¨

¨I´m not looking for extra points, Chloe, ¨he responded, pleased to see he could control the tremor in his voice. ¨I just thought... ¨

¨What? You just thought what, Lex? ¨she exploded, turning round and feeling her tears roll down her cheeks. ¨That I´d forgive you for taking my dad away from me? That you´d get me with my defences down and convince me to forget what you´ve submitted my mother and me to at 33.1? ¨

¨No, ¨he said curtly, making a supreme effort to hold her irate gaze. ¨This was a mistake. I´ll leave you alone. ¨

¨Tell me, Lex, ¨she said when he was already at the door. ¨Why? ¨

¨Why? ¨he echoed with a puzzled look.

¨Yes, why can´t you just let me be? ¨

¨There are things in this world bigger than you and me, Chloe. ¨

¨Don´t give me that now, Lex. I don´t know if I have the time to... . ¨

¨Don´t say that! ¨he snapped, seeing her frown and look at him questioningly.

¨Don´t tell me you´ve got scruples all of a sudden, Lex. ¨

¨The doctor´s confident about the operation. You can´t get into that OR thinking like that. ¨

¨And why do you care? There´d be one freak less on your list of potential menaces, ¨she said bitterly.

¨I´ve never wanted this, Chloe. It never should have come to this, ¨he said, swallowing the lump in his throat.

¨What do you mean by ´this´, Lex? Me lying on this bed? Or my hating your guts? Because as much as I´d like to blame you for my current predicament, I´m afraid you´ve got nothing to do with my condition. ¨

Lex shuffled his feet and fought an internal struggle to decide whether or not to blurt out the truth and kill any possibility they might have of ever patching things up between them.

¨Chloe, I cannot blame you for not wanting to set eyes on me again. God knows I´ve done things of which I´m deeply regretful, but as far as it concerns you- whether you believe it or not- your well-being has always been first on my mind. ¨

¨Poking me and testing me without my consent, wiping out my memory and implanting a tracking device in my right shoulder is part of your twisted way of showing me you care about me? This is unbelievable, Lex. Is this some kind of retribution for what happened four years ago when I wasn´t able to testify and help you keep your dad behind bars? You thought a taste of your father´s medicine would be fit for my ´betrayal´? ¨

¨You didn´t betray me, Chloe. We both know that´s not true. ¨

¨Do we? I honestly can´t remember, but- knowing you and seeing what our relationship´s been like after I came back to Smallville- it´s the only conclusion I can arrive at. I only have to be around you to know something big´s happened between us, something you can´t forget and for which you deem me responsible. I´m not stupid, Lex. You wouldn´t be this vengeful unless you considered me the scum of the earth. What was it I´ve done to deserve so much spite? ¨she asked quivering, feeling the tears brim her eyes and hating herself for being so weak as to ask him for an explanation. She loathed him -she had to keep reminding herself, and he didn´t deserve her tears.

¨Chloe... ¨he murmured throatily, focusing his gaze on his polished Italian shoes in an attempt to pull himself together.

¨I can´t believe the son of the great Lionel Luthor can´t look at me in the eye or even find the words to give me a straight answer, ¨she said bitterly. ¨You know what? It´s OK, Lex. I didn´t expect you to be honest with me. We both know how good a liar you can be. You might have deceived Lana, but you can´t fool me. I know you, Lex. ¨

Lex raised his eyes now back in control- at least to outward appearances- and held her passionate green gaze. She didn´t know how true her words were. She had once held the key to his heart, his soul and his deepest secrets- hell, she still did and she simply wasn´t aware of it! He had done a damn good work at concealing it and got what he wanted- she hated him.

¨Mm, ¨whined Chloe, bringing her hand to her abdomen and gritting her teeth in pain.

¨You´ve got to enter that OR immediately, Chloe, ¨said a blanched Lex, getting closer to the bed. ¨I´ll take care of everything, ¨he added, pressing the buzzer for the orderly to come over.

¨I don´t need anything from you, Lex, ¨she murmured, biting her lower lip.

¨You´ll get it just the same, Chloe, ¨he stated, looking at the way she was cutting her lip.

¨You´re hurting yourself, ¨he whispered.

¨I hate you, ¨she hissed, boring her eyes into him and feeling an unwelcome tightening at the pit of her stomach.

¨Do you think I´m not aware of that, Chloe? Hold to that hatred if it helps you get through this operation. I´m sure Clark would be devastated if you gave up fighting, ¨he finished, making his way back to the door.

¨Lex? ¨asked Chloe breathless when he had his hand on the doorknob. ¨Why do you care? ¨

Lex closed his eyes tightly, fighting the urge to turn around, sink to his knees next to her bed and unburden his soul.

¨We were friends once, Chloe, and, whether you believe it or not, I´ve always been watching for you. ¨

¨You´ve already said that, Lex. The Truth. I want it, Lex. You owe it to me. ¨

_¨The truth? The truth, Chloe, is something I doubt you´d be able to handle, ¨_he thought, turning the knob. ¨Good luck, Chloe. Clark´ll be here when you wake up, ¨he answered instead, shutting the door firmly behind him.


	5. Careless

**CHAPTER 5**: Careless

Luthor Mansion- Lex´s study-2007

The moment Lex had left Chloe´s private room he had got in his silver Porsche and sped back to the mansion driving like a mad man. He hadn´t driven off the bridge again out of sheer luck or thanks to his good reflexes and had got to the castle all shaky and distraught.

Now he was half-drunk and lying sprawled on the sofa of his study with Chloe´s medical records scattered on the coffee table in front of the fireplace.

¨Lex, haven´t you received my messages?¨stormed Lionel into the library. ¨I was going to suggest firing your assistant for her incompetence, but now I see why you haven´t answered my calls. ¨

¨Dad, I haven´t got time for this now, ¨he hissed, cursing his sloppiness when it came to taking the necessary precautions in case his dad made one of his impromptu visits.

¨I can see you´re really busy getting drunk. While you were here intoxicating yourself in the arms of Bacchus, we almost lost Faber Genetics. If it hadn´t been for my foresight we would have kissed the acquisition goodbye.¨

¨You didn´t need me for this deal, dad. I knew I could leave everything in your more than capable hands. Now, if you´ll excuse me, I´ve got more important things to think about. ¨

¨And what would that be? ¨asked Lionel, observing Lex´s paper-shuffling.

¨Personal stuff, dad. I´ve got something called life beyond my business persona. ¨

¨Lex, don´t you remember one of my first lessons? You cannot let your emotions interfere with... ¨

¨Spare me, dad!¨he spat, springing from the sofa with the empty tumbler in one hand and Chloe´s file in another.

¨What´s wrong with you, son? ¨asked Lionel with a frown. ¨Getting drunk in broad daylight is just not your style. ¨

¨I didn´t know there was a special time to indulge in vice. I remember only too well you´ve never had qualms about seeing to your appetites in broad daylight, ¨he responded wryly.

¨Don´t try to make this about me, Lex. You´re making me question the wisdom of leaving you my chair at the Board of Directors. You´re unstable, son. ¨

¨Are you going to play that card again? I can assure you I´ve never seen things clearer in my life. So... why don´t you say what you´ve come here to say, dad, and be done? ¨said Lex through clenched teeth.

¨This is... ¨started Lionel suddenly distracted by a loose sheet which had fallen under the coffee table, ¨really... interesting,¨ he murmured, leaning down to pick it up and missing Lex´s quick intake of breath. ¨I didn´t know Miss Sullivan was your new obsession now. I was under the impression there was no love lost between you two, ¨he added, cocking an eyebrow as he perused the document.

¨Wasn´t you who said, dad, ´Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer´? ¨asked Lex, slipping on his cool mask.

¨And how close would this be, Lex? Keeping tabs on her levels of oestrogen and her monthly cycles? Isn´t that a bit excessive? ¨

¨One never knows what information will come in handy. You´ve taught me that,¨ he responded, taking a gulp of brandy.

¨Is there something I should know? ¨

¨When and if there´s anything of relevance to you or LuthorCorp you´ll be duly informed. ¨

¨What is it with you and your obsession with everything and everyone that has to do with Mr Kent? ¨

¨I don´t see how my being thorough when it comes to keeping records of people who might pose a threat to me and my endeavours has anything to do with Clark. ¨

¨Come on, Lex. Don´t forget who you´re talking to. We both know about your fascination with the caves and young Mr Kent. ¨

¨As I remember only too well, I´m not the only one wanting to unravel the mystery of our favourite farm boy. ¨

¨I admit to being intrigued by the writings and paintings on the walls, who wouldn´t? But... Miss Sullivan..., ¨he bit his lower lip, looking again at the paper in his hand, ¨she´s always been the most fascinating riddle and a most worthy adversary. ¨

¨You should know it better than anyone, dad, ¨said Lex calmly, but smouldering on the inside.

¨Oh, yes. How could I ever forget? What did it feel like to be her hero, Lex? Trying to save her from the big bad wolf and stabbing your own flesh and blood in the back? ¨

¨I don´t feel like going down memory lane right now, dad, ¨he snapped, setting down the empty tumbler on the wet bar.

¨I had the impression it was exactly what you were doing before I barged in to find you half-drunk. ¨

¨Don´t you dare presume you know me that well, dad. ¨

¨Oh, but you´re so predictable, son. Miss Lang was nothing but a flitting fancy or was it a decoy? ¨he smiled wolfishly. ¨I´ve always wondered... ¨ murmured Lionel with a pensive look. ¨After all those months plotting to bring me down and send me to the chair, what made Miss Sullivan finally betray you? ¨

¨She didn´t betray me, but even if she had, do you actually think I´d be so unprofessional as to show my enemies my vulnerabilities? ¨

¨Your enemies? Do you count me among them, Lex? ¨

¨To say we´re a loving son and a caring parent would be stretching the truth too much, don´t you think? ¨

¨Well, then, I´ll remind my physician to send you a copy of my chest X-rays and the results of my latest blood tests. I wouldn´t like my records to be outdated, ¨snarked Lionel, throwing the loose sheet carelessly on Lex´s desk. ¨I´ll leave you to your ´personal´ stuff, son, ¨he finished with a smirk, showing himself out.

Lex poured himself another bourbon, lifted the tumbler to take a gulp and, swallowing the vintage beverage, let the rage he had been restraining break loose. The splinters flew in all directions as both the tumbler and the decanter were smashed against the hardwood. He had been unforgivably reckless and had jeopardised every carefully constructed lie surrounding his relationship with Chloe. With just a puff of breath his father could make the shaky house of cards tumble down. Lex had imagined hundreds of scenarios around the possibility of Chloe ever finding out what had really happened the summer before Lionel´s trial, but this was one he hadn´t dared to imagine. And the uncertainty of what Lionel might do with that information made a cold shiver run down his spine.


	6. Awakening

**CHAPTER 6**: Awakening

Smallville Medical Center-2007 

Chloe came round in a room which wasn´t hers, surrounded by the constant bleep of medical equipment and the pervasive smell of disinfectant, and a feeling of déjà vu seized her. She felt as if someone had been playing football with her body and, when she tried to sit up, the world around her started to spin.

¨Easy, ¨said a masculine voice near her, putting his hand behind her head to help her lie on her back again.

¨Lex? ¨mumbled Chloe as she tried to focus and stop seeing blurry.

¨It´s Clark, Chloe. ¨

¨What´s happened? ¨she mumbled, touching her head and looking for the gauze she was almost sure would be there- but it wasn´t.

¨You had to be operated on, ¨said Clark, but she could hear another voice in her mind. _´There was an accident, Chloe, ¨_ said the voice calmly, and she could even see a pair of blue-grey eyes and a look she couldn´t decipher but which made her stomach tie up in knots.

¨You mean an accident, ¨she stated, touching her arms, looking for the lacerations, the cuts and the bruises, but there were none.

¨An accident? No, Chloe, there´s been no accident. ¨¨ 

¨But... I... ¨she stammered suddenly breathless.

¨Chloe? ¨asked a panicky Clark, seeing her eyes brim with tears and a look of desperation appear on her face. ¨Chloe? ¨repeated Clark, extending a hand to comfort her only to see her cringe.

¨Oh, my God! ¨she sobbed and let out a scream of anguish which reminded Clark of a wounded animal.

He tried to wrap her in his arms to soothe the pain which seemed to be consuming her, but she resisted his efforts until the doctor and a nurse entered the room and sedated her.

¨What´s wrong with her? ¨asked a blanched Clark to the doctor.

¨You´d better leave, Mr Kent, ¨said Chloe´s physician.

¨But... ¨

¨There´s nothing you can do here, young man, ¨insisted the doctor, and Clark had to leave the room reluctantly.

¨Mr Luthor, ¨said the doctor on the phone, ¨there´s been an unexpected development. ¨

¨Is she all right, doctor? ¨he asked.

¨It depends on what you consider to be all right, Mr Luthor. The operation has been a success. But we need to talk, ¨said the man gravely.

¨Has she regained consciousness, doctor? ¨he asked with a tremor in his voice.

¨She has, but we had to sedate her. She had a severe panic attack when she came out of the anaesthesia. ¨

¨Do you think that she might remember anything? ¨he asked, gripping the mobile tightly.

¨The mind´s a complex and amazing piece of machinery, Mr Luthor. I wouldn´t rule it out. ¨

¨But you aren´t sure, right? ¨said Lex, pacing up and down his study.

¨We won´t know for certain until the sedative wears off, and that is if she´s willing to talk. I really can´t predict her reaction, Mr Luthor. ¨

¨Give me an hour, doctor, and I´ll bring you something that´ll help. ¨

¨Mr Luthor... I don´t think...¨ 

¨She mustn´t remember. ¨

¨You´re asking me to do something morally reprehensible. ¨

¨You´ve made an oath to protect the life of your patients, doctor, and I can assure you it´ll be better this way. ¨

¨We aren´t God, Mr Luthor. ¨

¨Haven´t you heard God has a complex of Luthor, doctor? I´ll take the whole responsibility. ¨

¨Why are you doing this? ¨

¨You know why. You convinced me to go into her room because of it. ¨

¨I still don´t understand. ¨

¨Forget you´re her doctor for a minute.What would you do if you were in my shoes? ¨

¨Tell her the truth. ¨

¨I´m afraid that´s a luxury we can´t afford at the moment. ¨ 

Lex snapped the mobile shut and let himself fall with a thud on the swivel chair. He brought his hands to his temples and massaged them with his fingertips. He had developed a splitting headache and the muscles of his neck and shoulders were coiled up in tension; he hadn´t foreseen this new scenario and felt the walls of the mansion suddenly asphyxiating.

¨What have you done to her? ¨boomed an irate Clark Kent, storming through the doors of Lex´s study.

It took the billionaire a few seconds to come down of wherever his mind had wandered to focus his energy and eyes on his former best friend.

¨The days when you were welcome in this house are over, Clark. And I´m afraid I don´t know what you´re talking about. ¨

¨That little act may work on those who don´t know you as well as I do, Lex, ¨said Clark through clenched teeth, planting both hands on Lex´s desk for leverage.

¨What horrendous deed are you now accusing me of? ¨asked Lex tersely, getting up of his chair and walking to the bar to pour himself a long-needed drink.

¨I know you were with Chloe yesterday morning. Several people saw you both arguing outside The Talon when she collapsed on the pavement, ¨pressed on Clark, standing haughtily in the middle of the room.

¨Is this supposed to be news? I called to inform you about Chloe´s condition, ¨said Lex, cocking an eyebrow.

¨Yes, you called me but when she was already in the operating room. ¨

¨What´s this, Clark? A jealous lover´s routine? ¨he said wryly, taking a sip of bourbon.

¨Why did you wait so long? ¨

¨Why don´t you say what you´ve come here to say before I have security kick you out of my property? ¨

¨First it was Lana, and now my best friend. Can´t you just let it rest, Lex? ¨

¨Do you actually think my life revolves around you and your inconsequential life, Clark? I must appear more bored and pathetic than I thought, ¨he said ironically.

¨What is it that you don´t want Chloe to remember? The experiments you and your team of Dr Frankensteins submitted her to at 33.1? ¨

Lex´s mind was working at full speed, wondering for the umpteenth time how it was possible for a common Kansas farm boy- well, not common, there wasn´t anything ordinary about the guy- to be always at the right place at the right time. It was an asset when you needed to be rescued, but an 

utter nuisance when it interfered with your plans. How on earth did he get wind of his private conversation with Chloe´s doctor when he had just finished hanging up the phone? 

¨Experiments? And what experiments would those be? ¨ he asked coldly, keeping his mask firmly in place.

¨You´ve almost killed her, Lex. ¨

¨Why would I want to kill Miss Sullivan? ¨he answered, taking a large gulp of bourbon and telling himself Clark had just hit on the nail. Chloe had almost died because of him, but not in the circumstances Clark was accusing him of.

The procedure at 33.1 had been necessary to protect the chemical balance of her body after the tragic events of that summer four years before but hadn´t put her in any danger.

¨She knows you inside out, Lex. She stumbled upon something big and was going to expose you on the front page, and you just needed to silence her. That´s the reason you had them implant that device in her shoulder and made her into a walking bomb, right? ¨

¨What the hell are you talking about? ¨exploded Lex.

¨I saw it, Lex. I took it with my own hands. She was freaking out when I arrived at The Talon and was ready to cut herself up with a knife, for God´s sake! Do you remember that night when you ordered the termination of all those meteor freaks you´d had kidnapped and taken to 33.1? ¨

¨I see, now I am a mass murderer, ¨hissed Lex, feeling a sudden clench in the gut when he realised what had brought about Chloe´s medical emergency. He hadn´t counted on that. He had believed his team of scientists had failed, but now he knew the problem wasn´t the device hadn´t been working properly- it had been removed.

¨You were tracking them with the implants, Lex. Chloe and I saw the lights disappear on the map... ¨

¨You´re delusional, Clark. I understand what you feel for Chloe. Believe me, I do.¨

¨I won´t let you hurt her, Lex. ¨

¨You aren´t the one to talk about hurting other people, Clark. You´re ready to pass judgement on me, but you seem to forget you were the person who hurt her first and one of the reasons she almost died four years ago. ¨

¨What´s that supposed to mean? ¨

¨I can´t believe you´re that naïve, Clark. Why do you think she fell prey to my dad so easily? She knew what he was like and if she hadn´t been so heartbroken, she would have seen through him. ¨

¨You used her. ¨

¨I protected her the best way I could. ¨

¨You used her and then dropped her. She was a different person when she came back. She was broken. ¨

¨I accept my share of blame, but you weren´t an innocent pawn in this game. ¨

¨Don´t try to twist the facts, Lex. You won´t succeed at making me feel guilty, I´d never led her on. ¨

¨You hadn´t? That´s not the impression I got when she came to me. ¨

¨Is that the reason you took advantage of her vulnerability that summer? ¨

¨I don´t like what you´re suggesting, Clark. And remember Chloe is the woman we´re talking about. ¨

¨As if you cared... ¨he mumbled through clenched teeth.

¨How dare you? I do! I do care! ¨snapped Lex, instantly regretting his outburst.

Clark eyed him as if he had suddenly grown two heads, and the air in the study- which had been sparkling with energy and barely repressed hatred- became almost impossible to breathe. Clark could feel the tension and pain emanating from Lex in crushing waves and looked at the man with a stupefied expression. The young farm boy was most of the times clueless about the things around him; he was too simple and innocent to see beyond the surface of things, and Lex had always been too complex for him to read properly. However, on this occasion the billionaire´s feelings were too raw and exposed not to be interpreted even by the most simpleton.

¨Get out, Clark! ¨barked Lex.

¨Lex, I... ¨started Clark.

¨I want you to leave, ¨said the younger Luthor coldly.

¨What have you done to her, Lex? What did you tell her before she entered the operating room? ¨

¨Haven´t you heard me, Clark? I´ve got nothing to say to you. Just leave. ¨

¨Your name was the first thing that came out of her mouth when the anaesthesia started to wear off. Why? ¨

¨How the hell should I know? I was the last face she saw, that´s all. ¨

¨What happened before she came back to Smallville four years ago? ¨

¨I´m calling security, ¨hissed Lex, picking up the receiver.

¨That won´t be necessary, ¨responded Clark calmly. ¨33.1 isn´t the thing you don´t want her to remember, is it? ¨

¨Clark.. ¨answered Lex threateningly.

¨You should have seen her face when she woke up, Lex. I´ve only seen that look once. When I was ten my father and I found a young colt tangled in some barbed wire... It was in such a bad condition ... ¨

¨That´s enough! ¨ Lex cut him off, trying to hide the anguish behind a controlled mask.

¨Your dad robbed you of a good portion of your life, Lex. I remember to what extremes you went to get it back. I won´t let you do that to Chloe. ¨

¨I´m protecting her, Clark. ¨

¨Kidnapping her, submitting her to invasive procedures... Is that the way to protect someone you claim to care for? ¨

¨You don´t know the rules of the game, Clark. ¨

¨Why don´t you enlighten me, then? ¨

¨You lost the right to ask me to open up to you a long time ago, ¨he said grimly, and the conversation came to a sudden stop when Lex´s mobile rang. ¨Luthor, ¨snapped Lex, answering the call. ¨I´ll be there in ten minutes,¨ he added, swallowing the lump in his throat and keeping his back to Clark.

¨Is she OK? ¨asked Clark with a strangled voice.

¨She´s woken up again. Her vital signs are stable and the wounds are healing just fine, ¨ he responded no longer wondering how the farm boy had known the call was about Chloe.

¨That´s good, isn´t it? ¨

¨Yes, of course, it´s good, Clark, ¨he stated, putting on the jacket he had tossed on the armchair when he had come back from hospital.

¨You don´t seem pleased. What is it she shouldn´t remember, Lex? ¨he insisted.

¨You´re pushing your luck, Clark, ¨he said, grabbing the keys of his Porsche.

¨Do you love her, Lex? ¨asked Clark with a calm voice, and Lex stopped suddenly at the doorway.

¨I´m incapable of any such feeling. Wasn´t that what you said not so long ago? ¨ he responded without turning around. ¨You know the way out. ¨


	7. Facing the Music

**CHAPTER 7**: Facing the Music

Lex parked his silver sports car outside Smallville Medical Center. He killed the engine and kept his shaky hands on the steering wheel, trying to pull himself together before stepping out of the vehicle to face the music.

Clark´s storming into his study had prevented Lex from getting a vial of the experimental drug they had been using at 33.1 to erase the patients´ memory. Now, he´d have to face her and he was far from ready for the confrontation.

¨Mr Luthor, ¨Dr Philips greeted him.

¨Doctor, ¨he answered curtly.

¨There´s been no need to sedate her again. But I´m far from satisfied with her psychological state. The only word she´s uttered so far´s your name. I couldn´t get her to talk. Maybe you... ¨

¨What is it that you want me to do? You´re the doctor. You´re the one with a diploma. ¨

¨Don´t patronise me, Mr Luthor. I´m not one of your employees. ¨

¨I´m one of the largest benefactors of this hospital, Dr Philips. I pay your salary. ¨

¨You may pay my salary, but I owe myself to my patient. She needs you in there. She needs to hear the truth. ¨

¨You´re a gynaecologist not a psychiatrist, doctor. ¨

¨I know pain when I see it, Mr Luthor. And that woman´s going through hell. Get down of your high horse and do something about it. You´re the one who holds the key to what her mind´s been repressing, ¨he said matter-of-factly, turning the knob of Chloe´s private room. ¨Get in there and show her she´s been wrong to judge you the way she has these past four years. ¨

Lex looked at the doctor with daggers in his eyes. A lesser man would have shrunk and recoiled in fear but not Dr Philips; he was a force to be reckoned with and, despite his feelings of impotence, Lex couldn´t help but admire the man for standing up to him and for trying to do what he thought was best to help his patient.

The door closed behind Lex and the young billionaire found himself trapped in a hospital room with the only woman apart from Lillian whose love he had wanted to be worthy of. She had been his and he had been hers- he still was- but destiny had got in the way; destiny and a man who shared his surname.

¨Where is he? ¨whispered a defeated voice he hardly recognised as Chloe´s.

Lex looked at the fragile young woman connected to the monitor and he avoided her gaze, incapable of bearing the naked pain in those green orbs he loved so much.

¨If I know Clark well, he´ll get here soon, ¨he stated.

¨I´m not talking about Clark, Lex, ¨she said throatily. ¨Where is he? I want to see him. ¨

¨Chloe... ¨said Lex with a strangled voice.

¨Why can´t you look at me, Lex? ¨

¨I´m looking at you, ¨he answered, turning around and fastening his eyes on a point around her shoulder.

¨You aren´t looking at me in the eye, Lex. It´s not like you. What have you done, Lex? ¨

Lex´s hands were clenched into two tight fists in the pockets of his expensive black trousers. He didn´t know what to answer because he couldn´t bring himself to ask who ´he´ was.

¨He´s dead, isn´t he? ¨she asked with tears in her eyes, and the sudden movement of her hands gave Lex the response he didn´t want to hear.

¨Chloe, baby, ¨said an anguished Lex, sitting on the bed and trying to reach for the blonde reporter.

¨Don´t touch me! ¨she sobbed.

¨Chloe, ¨he whispered, feeling the pricking of tears behind his eyelids. ¨I had no choice. ¨

¨Liar! ¨she shouted, slapping his face with such force that Lex had to wipe a trail of red off his mouth with a hand.

Chloe´s lips started to tremble uncontrollably and the tears welled up in her eyes.

¨I couldn´t lose you, Chloe, ¨he said with a hoarse voice, caressing her cheek with a gentle hand, and the dam broke loose.

¨I wish I had died, ¨she hiccupped. ¨Why? Why didn´t you let... me die? ¨she cried in wracking sobs as Lex´s arms wrapped around her, and he cradled her like a child.

Clark stood outside Chloe´s room watching Lex soothing her as if she were the most valuable of his possessions, and he felt an indescribable sense of loss in his chest. He saw his former friend rock her like a baby, kiss her tears away and whisper words of comfort. The farm boy felt the urge to use his super-hearing to understand what had brought about such a sudden change in the relationship between two people who had been the bitterest of enemies for four years, but couldn´t bring himself to do it. He stopped as soon as he heard the barely repressed tears in the voice of an in appearance unflappable Lex Luthor.

The sun had already set when Chloe stirred in Lex´s arms. She had cried herself to sleep and the nurse had entered the room twice to check the monitors and her drip-feed. Lex had remained awake the whole time, too overwhelmed by emotion to close his eyes, too afraid to risk her being snatched away from him.

Lex noticed the change in her breathing and knew she was waking up. He tried to brace himself for what was to come because the emotional scene of four hours before had been just the tip of the iceberg. She was so pale that she almost looked transparent. If it hadn´t been for the steady beating of her heart, which he felt against his own chest and which was being monitored by the hospital equipment, he´d have thought she was dead.

Her eyelids fluttered open and Lex found himself looking into a pair of haunted green eyes. He saw them glaze again and slackened his hold on her when she squirmed in his arms. Although he didn´t want to let her go, he understood her need to protect herself from pain.

¨Chloe, ¨murmured Lex close to her ear as she turned her back to him.

¨Now I understand, ¨she said shakily.

¨What is it you understand? ¨he asked with a controlled voice.

¨Why you hate me, ¨she sobbed.

¨I don´t hate you, Chloe, ¨he responded, combing her hair with his fingers.

¨Don´t do that... please, ¨she cried, straining to get away from him.

¨Chloe... ¨

¨I deserve everything. Everything you´ve put me through these four years. ¨

¨Everything I´ve done has been to protect you, Chloe. You must believe me. ¨

¨Why did you save me? ¨she whined. ¨Why? ¨

¨I wish things had turned out differently but... the injuries to your body were so extensive, baby, ¨said Lex, tucking a few strands of blond hair behind her ear.

¨Don´t ... don´t call me that. ¨

¨Why not? You used to... ¨

¨Lex, I can´t. I´ve been hating you... for four years. ¨

¨It´s OK for you to hate me. If it hadn´t been for the Luthors, none of this would have happened. ¨

¨I was the one who entered the bargain with your father. ¨

¨Yes, but if I had been more careful... I thought nobody had followed me to the safe house. ¨

¨I should have listened to you, Lex. You warned me. I should have never left the house to get that witness´ testimony. My dad didn´t want me to leave either. He got into the car... because I was as stubborn as a mule. He wasn´t supposed to be there. Why did you make me believe it was you behind the wheel? ¨

¨You had gone through a lot, Chloe. I couldn´t allow you to blame yourself for your father´s death on top of everything. ¨

¨Where is he, Lex? ¨she sobbed. ¨They didn´t let me see him. I need to see him.¨

¨When the time´s right, ¨he answered, wrapping an arm around her waist and spooning her from behind as she convulsed with wracking sobs.


	8. Retreat Part 1

**CHAPTER 8:** Retreat (PART 1)

Chloe was sitting in front of her dresser in a green and cream cotton sundress. She looked at herself in the mirror and tried to see the girl whose life had been full of dreams and plans for the future, but she couldn´t find her. In her place she saw a sad young woman of large green eyes- eyes that used to sparkle with humour, but which were now empty. She had been in this retreat for two months now. Taking long walks in the parks, sitting on the veranda of her own cottage to write in her diary- it had been her therapist´s suggestion and it was perhaps one of the few things she still enjoyed; writing had been her life and journalism her passion. She had got her dream job at The Planet after struggling her way up from the basement. She had even penned the story which would have put her a step closer to the Pulitzer Prize. But that had been before and this was after.

The chirping of the birds could be heard through the open windows and Chloe raised a hand to her right shoulder, tracing the tiny scar which was still visible. She had an implant again, but this time she knew what its purpose was. On more than one occasion she had felt tempted to dig it out. She knew what would happen if she did and she almost welcomed the thought.

She felt his presence despite his customary stealth. She had never been able to understand why her body could sense his so effortlessly until two months ago. Now she knew. She had always suspected something but had tried to deny it, too afraid to face what it might entail.

Chloe got up of the stool and took the delicate wrap she had left on top of the dresser. She walked towards him in silence and felt his hands cup her face to press a warm kiss on her forehead. She shivered at his touch and wondered how she could have ever thought she hated this man.

They walked in companionable silence for a while until Lex grabbed her hand and made her stop under an oak tree.

¨Chloe, ¨he said, looking at her with so much emotion in his eyes that she felt the sudden urge to dig up a hole and hide. ¨I´ve been talking with Dr Ellison. She thinks you´re ready to take the next step. ¨

¨I´m not ready yet, ¨she said throatily.

¨That´s not what she says. ¨

¨And you believe her, Lex? You´ve never trusted shrinks before. What´s different about this one? ¨

¨We aren´t talking about me, Chloe. You´re afraid; that´s all. ¨

¨This isn´t just about me and you know it, Lex. ¨

¨There are different ways to face our demons, Chloe. I can fence with my own but... ¨

¨What makes us any different, Lex? ¨

¨I was born male. ¨

¨What´s that supposed to mean? That you´re expected to keep up that indestructible macho image that´s ingrained in your mind thanks to your dad? ¨she asked with glassy eyes.

¨You know what I meant, Chloe, ¨he croaked.

¨No, I don´t. Why don´t you tell me? ¨she whined.

¨Chloe... ¨ he murmured, cupping her face in one hand.

¨Say it, Lex! ¨she asked him, fisting the front of his shirt. ¨Say it! ¨she cried. ¨Why can´t you say it? ¨she sobbed, punching him repeatedly on the chest in defeat.

¨I... don´t know... how, ¨he confessed, tightening his hold on her.

¨I need to... hear it, Lex. ¨

¨I can´t, ¨he swallowed the lump in his throat.

¨Then, say you hate me, ¨she sobbed, squirming in his arms.

¨I don´t hate you, Chloe. ¨

¨You have to... you have to hate me, Lex. Because ... ¨she stumbled backwards, ¨because if I... I don´t hate you and you... you don´t hate me... I don´t know who I am any more. I look at myself in the mirror... and all I can see is a stranger. All this time... all these years... I thought you... ¨she shook her head. ¨I´ve been living a lie... I feel so empty, Lex. Was it like this? Did it feel like this? ¨she asked him with a look of utter despair on her face.

¨I´m sorry, Chloe, ¨he choked overcome by emotion. ¨I´m so sorry, ¨ he added, holding her tightly as she dissolved in tears. ¨I´ve always wanted to spare you this. I know you must resent me for lying to you, but when you woke up in hospital and you didn´t remember... I thought God had been merciful. ¨

Lex stayed with Chloe at the cottage that day. Although he had just come with the idea of visiting and keeping her company till sunset like he had done on his previous weekly escapades, he had found her so distraught that he hadn´t had the heart to leave her alone. She had been right, she didn´t seem to be ready to leave, but he wasn´t sure the isolation was helping her recovery either. Lex wasn´t sure he was what she needed- he wasn´t her best friend Clark and despite the depth of what they had shared, she was still uncomfortable around him. He couldn´t blame her. Four years invested in enmity couldn´t be erased overnight, particularly when it had defined both her professional and her personal life.

Chloe had gone to bed early after having a quiet dinner with Lex- a meal he had cooked while she napped on the sofa following a good felt cry. It seemed crying was the only thing she had been doing for the last two months and, although she was drained by the time she sought refuge in her bedroom, she couldn´t sleep at all.

Lex had finished washing up and rinsing the few dishes they had used when he heard her turn off the shower and move in her bedroom. He tried to empty his mind, but images of the summer he had shared with her kept popping up, and his gut clenched. Seeing Chloe from afar in Smallville, crossing paths at The Talon or in Metropolis on occasion was hard, but it didn´t compare to what he was experiencing now that he was breathing under the same roof- so close and yet so far.

She had cried in his arms and had clung to him in her despair, but once the sobs had subsided she had pulled away as if she were ashamed of her emotional outburst in front of him. He tried not to feel hurt; he told himself her reaction hadn´t been any different from the one he would have had had he been in her shoes. However, he couldn´t help but resent the fact that she would perhaps never confide in him the way she did Clark.

Thinking of all the moments the farm boy had shared with her the last four years did nothing to assuage the pain in Lex´s chest or the jealousy he harboured towards his former best friend. Lex hated feeling that weak and insecure, but now that he was back in her life- sharing something that Clark would never be able to comprehend - Lex felt an overwhelming sense of power. He was the one, the only one, who could help Chloe now because- although Clark was her best friend- it was the billionaire who held the key to that part of her life her subconscious had kept locked. She needed him just as much as he needed her to heal the wounds which had haunted him for years and which were tearing her apart now.

Lex had just looked at his wrist-watch and seen it was five thirty in the morning when he heard Chloe´s bedroom door open. He closed his eyes and tried to even his breathing with the idea of feigning sleep. He felt her stop and hesitate as she approached the sofa where he was lying. The room was deadly quiet and the only sound he could hear was the soft tic-tac of his Napoleon franc watch close to his ear. He knew she was watching him and he wished he had the courage to open his eyes and look at her.

Chloe looked at the handsome man sleeping on her couch. He was covered only by a cotton sheet which had slipped down to reveal an appealing torso and a pair of cobalt blue boxers. She flushed all of a sudden, wondering for the umpteenth time in months what a gorgeous intelligent male specimen like Lex could have seen in a feisty, petite blonde such as her, when he had always favoured the willowy brunettes of this world.

Lex urged Chloe with his mind to quit staring at him and move before his body had a chance to betray him. He had kept his eyes tightly shut for what seemed an eternity until he ventured to open them just a slit, sheltered by the arm on his forehead. He cursed his timing when he saw her move towards the French door and the moonlight illuminated the luscious curves under her translucent nightgown.

Chloe thought she heard a moan in the silence of the living-room and turned slowly to steal a glance at the billionaire. Nothing looked amiss, and she blamed her own confused mental state for making her hear things. She turned back to the French door, unlocked it and stepped out onto the veranda.

Lex heard the sliding of the window and the cool breeze that blew into the room. It seemed Chloe was as insomniac as he was and in bad need of some fresh air to clear her mind. He looked at his watch again, it was quarter to six and the young reporter was sitting on the swing chair with her feet tucked underneath her. The chair was swaying gently and she appeared to be lost in her thoughts. Maybe he should venture onto the veranda and keep her some company.

Chloe rocked the swing chair with a soft and steady push and looked at the horizon; the sun was starting to rise. Another day was beginning. Another day wondering if there would ever come the time when she would be able to put the past behind her. Another day to miss what she hadn´t known she had once had.

¨Chloe, ¨murmured Lex from the threshold, ¨would you mind if I kept you some company? ¨

The blond woman looked at her flimsy nightdress and thought she had been a fool not to have put on something more discreet with Lex in the house. They might have known each other intimately and she couldn´t deny she found him attractive in spite of everything that had happened between them in the past four years but, while he had all the memories of them fresh in his mind, she still couldn´t get used to the idea that she had lain with him more than once, that he had seen her naked and that they had even...

¨Chloe? ¨came his voice again, taking her out of her reveries.

¨Yes? ¨she said in a strangled voice.

¨Would you feel more comfortable if I fetched you a robe or maybe a wrap? ¨he offered, and she couldn´t help but smile softly at his foresight.

¨Yes, please, ¨she mumbled.

A couple of minutes later she felt his presence behind her and the light touch of his hands as he put the wrap on her shoulders.

¨Thanks, ¨she said weakly, covering herself up with the exquisite hand-painted wrap Lex had given her as a birthday present when she turned twenty-two a couple of weeks ago.

¨May I? ¨he asked, looking at the vacant space on the swing chair.

¨Sure, ¨she answered, smiling softly as she noticed with relief he was now donning a pair of black trousers and a partially buttoned light-blue shirt.

¨Listen, Chloe, I know there´s a lot we haven´t talked about yet. Some things we´ve just scratched the surface of... ¨

¨You mean 33.1?¨

¨Among other things, yes. ¨

¨Now I know why you had me abducted in the middle of the night. I understand the need for the implant in my case, but that doesn´t explain why you´re still keeping my mother and all those other freaks at 33.1. ¨

¨There´s an explanation for everything, Chloe. And your mum´s been released, by the way. ¨

¨What? ¨she asked with a catch in her voice.

¨I´ve had her transferred to a neurological institute. ¨

¨A neurological institute? Why? ¨

¨She isn´t crazy, Chloe. She doesn´t belong in Belle Reve, and 33.1 hasn´t been created for cases such as hers.¨

¨But you used her, Lex. You used her and, in doing so, you gave me hope- hope that I could have her again in my life. ¨ ´

¨I know it´s not a valid excuse in your books, Chloe, but everything I did then was for a bigger purpose. You must agree with me that some of the meteor–infected are dangerous people.¨

¨We both know I´m a meteor freak. Does that make me dangerous? ¨

¨So am I, Chloe. I´ve never been ill since the first meteor shower. You know of my abnormal immune system because you did your research seven or eight years ago. And, no, I don´t believe you´re dangerous.¨

¨How could you know? ¨

¨You´re aware of my obsession with security cameras. Everything that happened at Reeves Dam was recorded. ¨

¨But... the place was completely destroyed. ¨

¨I always keep back-ups of everything on my internal server and nothing happened to it because it´s in a secured location. ¨

¨So you know. ¨

¨I do, and it´s an extraordinary gift, Chloe. ¨

¨I... I didn´t know I had it, Lex, ¨she sobbed. ¨If I had known then, I could have... ¨

¨Chloe, don´t do this to yourself. For all we know, you could have been infected in the second meteor shower. Besides, we both know from experience that the powers of meteor-infected people can remain dormant for years. It wasn´t your fault. ¨

¨You keep saying that... ¨she cried, ¨but ... what if I had had it? ... What if I could have made use of it?... He might be still alive... ¨she stammered with tears in her eyes.

Lex felt a large lump in his throat and experienced the sudden urge to wrap her in his arms to comfort her, but he was afraid of her rejection. God knew he had always felt awkward when it came to exteriorising his deepest feelings or when facing a woman in tears. For all his millions, he was ill-equipped for the world of affections and he owed that to his father´s upbringing. If Lillian had lived... ´Too many ifs,´ thought Lex.

¨We can´t live on what ifs, Chloe. ¨

¨You can say that because, unlike me, you´ve had time to... ¨

¨You´re wrong, Chloe, ¨he cut her off.

¨How am I wrong? You have all our memories intact while I´ve just learnt that the person whom I thought was my bitterest enemy was the most important man in my life apart from my dad four years ago. We were planning a life together after the trial- we had started a life together, for God´s sake! Tell me, Lex, how am I supposed to overcome the fact that I´ve murdered my own child? You´ve had time to mourn him, but I... ¨

¨Chloe, it was me who called the shots at the time. Your reproductive system was a mess, darling; that´s the reason you´ll need those hormones for life. The experimental procedure was a long shot, but it worked- you pulled through. The odds of survival for the baby were very flimsy, but there was a chance he might make it. However, if I hadn´t allowed the C-section, I would have lost both of you. So, if you want to blame someone for his death, blame me because it was I who took the decision. And God help me... if I were in the same position, I would do it again. ¨

¨What is it with you and your damn need to take the blame for things you haven´t done? You´re no saint, Lex. I could give you a long list of questionable deeds I know for certain you´re to blame for. But it was me who was driven off the road. It was me who crashed the car and killed my father and our child because I was too stubborn to listen to two people who knew better. ¨

¨I agree with you that you should have stayed at the safe house and let me handle the witness, but maybe it was me who drove my dad´s emissaries to you when I came to see you. ¨

¨But you wouldn´t have come that day if I hadn´t left the house to do my research and alerted my dad with my actions. ¨

¨Chloe, ¨Lex begged her.

¨I need this, Lex. I need to accept my share of guilt. I need to mourn him, Lex. You must let me have that at least. I appreciate your effort to protect me from pain, but... ¨she said, her eyes brimmed with tears.

Lex had done his best effort not to touch her and run the risk of having her push him away, but when he saw the dampness in her beautiful green eyes again, he threw care to the wind and wrapped her in his arms. At first, she stiffened, stunned by Lex´s reaction and then, she pressed up against his chest and let him hold her on his lap as the tears trailed silently down her cheeks.

Eventually, the young woman fell asleep, and the billionaire took a deep breath, uncoiling the tension which had seized his body and enjoying the feel of her warmth against his skin. Seeing her so vulnerable and ready to trust him when just a couple of months ago she would have looked at him with hatred and talked to him with venom in her voice undid him. The tears he had checked while she was awake started to roll down his cheeks, and he closed his eyes tightly, cursing his father for bringing all this suffering on them both. If Lionel hadn´t chosen to have his own parents murdered, none of this would have happened. Yet, if Chloe hadn´t had a crush on Clark and entered a bargain with the devil when the farm boy inadvertently hurt her, Lex would perhaps have never had the chance to develop such a strong bond with her. It was Lionel who had brought them together, and it was also him who had kept them apart.


	9. Retreat Part 2

**CHAPTER 8**: Retreat (PART 2)

At around nine o´clock Lex´s mobile rang and Chloe stirred in his arms. Hoping she wasn´t roused from her sleep, he picked her up gently, carried her into the cottage and, laying her on the sofa, he checked the number of the call he had missed.

¨This is Luthor, ¨said Lex gravely on the phone, stepping out onto the veranda again. ¨How much does he know? ¨he asked on hearing the interlocutor. ¨It´s all right. Thanks for contacting me, doctor, ¨he added, massaging the tense muscles of his neck. ¨Have you followed my instructions concerning the admission papers? Good. You have nothing to worry about. Goodbye, Dr Phillips, ¨he finished, flipping the mobile shut.

Two months was a long time, enough time for the enemy to collect information and connect the dots. Lex looked at Chloe lying asleep on the sofa and decided to make another call.

¨Hello, Dr Ellison. I need you to make everything disappear. There must be no paper trail left. You´ll also have to talk with your personnel. They´ll be generously paid, of course. Thanks for everything you´ve done. I truly appreciate it... I´ll need her files. Could you arrange for them to be brought here asap? OK... Goodbye, doctor. ¨

¨Is everything all right? ¨asked Chloe drowsily as Lex slid the French door shut.

¨You´re leaving with me, Chloe. It´s no longer safe here, ¨he explained, opening the briefcase he had left on the armchair across from the sofa.

¨Who were you talking to? ¨

¨Pack up your things, Chloe. Make sure you´ve left nothing behind.¨

¨Lex, what´s wrong? Where are you taking me? ¨

¨It seems my father´s on his way here. ¨

¨Your father? And what does he want with me? ¨

¨He went to see me at the mansion the day you were admitted to the hospital and... found me... slightly intoxicated. I´m afraid he suspects something about us or, at least, about my interest in you. If he ever finds out that you´re more than a prospective study subject for 33.1, he might want to hurt you to get at me. He may also want to find out if you´ve still got the power to send him to the chair.¨

¨But why now? Why didn´t he do anything sooner? ¨

¨I´ve managed to keep him away from you for four years, Chloe. My indifference to you in public and your open enmity towards me ... your hunger to expose me and my dealings on the front page of The Planet- helped support my plan to protect you. But I guess I wasn´t careful around him while you were in hospital. ¨

¨I know there´s no love lost between you too, Lex. But why would he try to get to you through me? Has this got anything to do with what you didn´t want The Planet to print? ¨

¨Chloe, I thought we´d agreed... ¨

¨It wasn´t an agreement, Lex. You threatened me either with jail or God knows what. ¨

¨You´re now aware that was an empty threat, Chloe. I´d never hurt you. ¨

¨I´m not the only one who´s onto you and your dubious activities at 33.1. ¨

¨You mean Lois, right? ¨

¨She´s obsessed with what happened to Wes Keenan and... then... there´s Reeves Dam. She won´t give up, Lex. ¨

¨I don´t know what she thinks she saw at Reeves Dam before the flooding. ¨

¨Lex, don´t play cynical. It´s me you´re talking to. I committed myself to you four years ago, gave myself to you and carried your child. I refuse to think I didn´t know who you were then. I must have embraced both your light and your darkness, accepted you for whom you are. Project Ares isn´t a delusion of Lois´ , and we both know it, Lex. I didn´t see anything at Reeves Dam because- as you already know- I wasn´t among the living, but I trust my cousin. She´s obnoxious- granted- but she isn´t a liar. ¨

¨Project Ares is something I still feel proud of, Chloe. The advances we´ve made will help decrease the number of casualties amongst our military forces and maximise their power at the front. There will be thousands of military wives and children who will be reunited with their husbands and fathers thanks to it, ¨ he said passionately.

¨I´m not arguing there might me a positive side to it, but you had no right to do what you did to Keenan. ¨

¨I gave him a life. He was virtually dead when they brought him from Afghanistan. He´d have been a vegetable.¨

¨And what kind of life was he given? A life where he had no free will? No memories? Think of that, Lex... never being able to remember... falling in love, getting married, having children? You met his wife. She loved him and, not only was he taken away from her, he couldn´t remember her. They could have been us, Lex, ¨ she answered with glassy eyes.

¨But they weren´t. They had both made an oath to protect this country. I just gave Keenan the opportunity to live up to his promises. ¨

¨You don´t believe what you´re saying, Lex. You´re just trying to justify manipulating human life, ¨she reproached him.

¨Everything I´ve been doing at 33.1 is to give people a second chance, provide them with a clean slate to start afresh. I´ve saved thousands from... ¨ he explained, and then suddenly stopped.

¨Saved them from what? ¨she asked, looking at him straight in the eye.

¨We´re wasting precious time, Chloe. Pack up your things, please. ¨

¨Lex, ¨started Chloe.

¨Chloe, I beg you, listen to me this time. I promise I´ll tell you everything when it´s safe. I know it´s asking too much, but just trust me, ¨he beseeched her, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

¨Can I at least know where we´re going? ¨she asked resignedly.

¨Montana, ¨he responded with the ghost of a smile.


	10. Red Herring

**A/N: **Owing to the comment posted by Suzy after finishing reading chapter 10, I´d like to make something clear.As I stated at the beginning of this fic, it wasn´t in my plans to follow SV´s storylines closely- in fact, I´ve manipulated events (including the timeframe) and made up many of them. Therefore, the friendly rapport between Lana and Lex shouldn´t strike you as odd since in this story they´ve never been married or had any romantic involvement. As pointed out by Lionel in a previous chapter, Lex feigned interest in her- i.e he used her as a decoy. So... no Lexana here beyond friendship. **  
**

**CHAPTER 9**: Red Herring

Two days later-LuthorCorp Plaza

Twenty-four hours had elapsed since the last time he saw Chloe and he was already missing being around her. Leaving her on the ranch had been a necessary though heart-wrenching decision- he couldn´t give Lionel any more food for thought. Lex would have liked to stay with her and work on the promising bonds they had formed during her stay at the retreat, and he realised Chloe had also had a hard time letting him go. However, it was a craving they couldn´t afford at the time.

¨Lex, where have you been, son? ¨asked Lionel Luthor, barging into the young tycoon´s private office in Metropolis.

¨Good morning to you too, dad, ¨he responded, trying to keep his poker-face in place.

¨Is it still morning to you? I thought you were still in a different time zone. You´ve been gone three days! ¨ he cocked an eyebrow.

¨So? The last time I checked I was of age and didn´t have to ask you for your permission to leave town, ¨came Lex´s answer.

¨You´re part of the Board of Directors, Lex. You can´t just disappear of the face of the earth when an extraordinary meeting´s been scheduled. ¨

¨An extraordinary meeting? ¨he frowned.

¨Haven´t you read the memo? ¨asked Lionel, shuffling through Lex´s papers in his in-tray.

¨I suppose I´m not that important after all if this corporation´s decisions are communicated to me through a memo. ¨

¨We were going to discuss the future of Faber Genetics. ¨

¨Oh, yes, your recently acquired company! I´m sorry, but I was closing a very important deal, ¨ explained Lex, uncapping a bottle of Tŷ Nant he had taken out of the mini-bar.

¨And what deal would that be? ¨

¨I´m afraid it´s too early to divulge it, dad. Let´s just say it´s the deal of a lifetime. You´ll understand if I don´t want to give you any details now. ¨

¨As CEO of LuthorCorp I have to be informed of deals which will affect the future of this corporation. ¨

¨I don´t need the approval of the Board, dad. You´ll see... this deal concerns only LexCorp and its shareholders. ¨

¨This deal doesn´t have anything to do with genetics, does it? ¨

¨Why? Are you afraid of the competition? ¨

¨You can´t have your fingers in two different pies, Lex. ¨

¨I´ve got mum´s shares of LuthorCorp. You can´t kick me out. As to LexCorp, it´s my corporation. I´ve built it with the support of the employees you wanted me to fire, remember? LexCorp is independent from LuthorCorp, and I´m planning to keep it that way. ¨

¨You know, Lex, corporative espionage is a serious crime. ¨

¨Indeed it is. That´s why I´ve tripled my security to make sure there are no leaks. ¨

Lex hoped his father was intrigue enough with the red herring and maybe ask his team to conduct an investigation of any recent suspicious activities in the genetics field- particularly, the hiring of scientists or the acquisition of materials and companies. The young billionaire had made sure there were clues to be found, enough to keep Lionel´s people busy, but not so obvious as to make him look sloppy- Lex knew better than to take his dad for a fool. Lionel´s first-born had learnt many tricks from his father and one of them was how to read the enemy and be several steps ahead of him. The younger Luthor was smart enough to realise his ruse would just buy them time but not deceive Luthor Sr indefinitely.

If Lionel happened to ask his private detectives to trace Lex´s whereabouts in the last three days, they wouldn´t end up empty-handed, but they wouldn´t get the truth either. So far the clean-up Lex had paid for and the testimonies he had bought seemed air-tight. Chloe was safe and so was their secret for the time being, and that made Lex- if not happy- at least satisfied.

The sun was starting to set when Lex drove his convertible through Smallville´s Main St, going past The Talon. Its doors were still open to the public being Saturday evening- there weren´t many things for the young to do at the weekends, except hanging out with friends at the coffee shop and, maybe, enjoy some band from Metropolis perform.

Lex had felt tempted to let Lana buy his share of the shop more than once, but owning a small town café provided his shady business life with a certain degree of normalcy. The Talon was perhaps one of the few ventures connected with him which had nothing of illegal. Moreover, it was the place where he had held some of his most treasured bantering sessions with Chloe and also watched her from afar when their relationship had turned awry. If only the townspeople knew he had kept the least profitable of his businesses out of sentimentality, they would definitely sneer in disbelief.

Although many people would laugh at the thought of Lex being a romantic, there had been a few women in his life- three to be more precise: Amanda, Lillian and Chloe- who could attest to the fact. He tried hard not to make it known for it showed he was human and vulnerable - something not at all advisable when one has got burnt too many times. Sentimentality was a sign of weakness, ´a character trait unfit for a Luthor, ´ according to his father.

The moment Lex´s Porsche was going past the coffee house, he spotted a well-known brown-haired man in a blue jacket entering the shop and decided to turn right, go round the block and park the car in front of the back entrance. Clark had tried to see him several times in Metropolis over the last couple of months, and Lex had managed to avoid him so far. However, knowing the farm boy, the young Kent would seek him out at the mansion when he realised he was back in town- there was only one person in Smallville who could afford German convertibles and only one patrician billionaire who drove cars with Lex written on his vanity plates.

Lex turned off the CD player, killed the engine and stepped out of the vehicle. He walked to the back door, locked the Porsche with the remote and opened The Talon with his own key. It was a busy evening at the coffee house, and he could hear the sound of crockery and cutlery being washed in the kitchen and smell the freshly grounded coffee for the espresso machine. Lana saw him as she turned around to look for change in the till, and he asked her with a movement of his head to join him in the office. The brunette looked at him with a questioning glance, but did as she was told once she had seen to the customer who was waiting for his ticket and change.

Lex perused some of the invoices which Lana had left on the desk and thought of suggesting a new diary products supplier. He had read some disturbing sanitary reports on McPherson´s a few weeks before when he had been researching a couple of small food companies with the idea of diversifying LexCorp, and he didn´t want Lana and The Talon to be associated with a massive sue for food poisoning.

¨Hey, Lex! It´s good to see my partner here from time to time, ¨she exclaimed with a warm Lang smile.

¨How are you doing, Lana? ¨he asked, accepting her peck on the cheek.

¨Fine, thanks. Business is doing pretty well as you can see. Weekends are the best time for us. We´re packed!¨

¨I´m glad. I know you´re busy, and I don´t want to detain you. It seems you´re somewhat short of personnel. I think we should hire some extra hands. I can arrange some interviews, if you like. ¨

¨Could you? That´d be nice. ¨

¨I´d like to talk to you about McPherson´s, but first, there´s something I need you to do. I´ve seen Clark walk in... ¨

¨Yes? ¨asked Lana with a puzzled look. She knew the two men weren´t in the best of terms and wondered what had made Lex mention his former best friend.

¨I want you to ask him to come over. There´s something we need to discuss. And, please, try to be as discreet as you can. ¨

¨Sure. Is everything all right, Lex? ¨she queried with a note of concern in her voice.

¨As good as could be expected, ¨he smirked. ¨Now... could you...? ¨

¨Certainly. I´ll tell Clark you´re here. It´s been nice to see you again. ¨

¨Come to the mansion tomorrow, and we´ll see what we can do about the extra hands and the new supplier. For the time being, don´t order anything from McPherson´s. I´m afraid their products are no longer first class. ¨

¨OK. If you say so, Lex. You´re the one with the intel!¨she smiled and left the small office in search of Clark.

Lex took off his Armani overcoat and left it on a chair, undoing the first few buttons of his light-blue dress shirt. Meeting Clark wasn´t at the top of his list of favourite things to do, but he couldn´t let the farm boy barge into his study demanding to know where Chloe was because Lex wasn´t sure the mansion was free of bugs. Moreover, Clark was Chloe´s best friend and, despite the differences between them, the young man truly cared for the blond reporter. Lex knew he owed their friendship at least a modicum of respect.

¨Clark, ¨Lex greeted the farm boy when he opened the door to the little office.

¨Lex, ¨answered Clark gravely.

¨Come in, please, and shut the door. You can wipe that look off your face, by the way. I´ve got nothing sinister planned for today. ¨

¨What do you want then, Lex? ¨

¨I was under the impression you were the one who wanted something from me. Have I been misinformed or you´ve been to Metropolis looking for me at least four times? ¨

¨You haven´t . ¨

¨Good. So, here I am. Ask whatever´s been nagging at you , ¨he offered, opening his arms wide and letting them drop to his sides.

¨Just like that? ¨

¨We can talk here, Clark. I couldn´t let you come to the mansion with your questions when there might be eyes and ears monitoring my every move. ¨

¨And who´s spying on you this time, Lex? ¨

¨Ask yourself who´s got access to my home and who´s got the means to carry out a surveillance operation so discreetly and you´ll get your answer, Clark. ¨

¨How is she? ¨asked the young Kryptonian after a pause, his voice charged with concern.

¨Physically, she´s completely recovered. Psychologically... ¨

¨What´s happened to her, Lex? ¨

¨You saw her changed when she came back after dad´s trial. There was a very important blank in her mind after the car accident in which Gabe died, ¨started to explain the young billionaire.

¨The accident you were involved in, ¨interrupted the farm boy venomously.

¨I wasn´t behind the wheel, Clark. I wasn´t even in the car. ¨

¨What? ¨answered Clark stunned.

¨I let Chloe believe I was the one responsible for Gabe´s death. ¨

¨Why? Did you feel responsible for taking advantage of her vulnerability, Lex? ¨

¨We´ve been over this, Clark. You aren´t one to judge me, and your assumptions are completely wrong. You´re always ready to believe the worst of me. ¨

¨I always defended you, Lex, when nobody would. Until I found out people were many a time right about your true nature. Now... why take the blame for a death you didn´t commit? ¨

¨I had to protect her, Clark. What was one more death in my record of misdeeds? ¨

¨Does Chloe know it wasn´t you who killed her dad? ¨

¨Unfortunately, yes. I´d have given everything for her never to find out, Clark, ¨

¨What else has she remembered? Have those memories got anything to do with your dad´s trial? ¨

¨I´m sorry, Clark. The least you know, the better off you´ll be. ¨

¨I´m her best friend, Lex. I´m worried about her. ¨

¨Do you think I don´t know that? Why would I have asked you to meet me here if that weren´t the case?¨

¨Where is she? ¨

¨Somewhere safe. ¨

¨You aren´t telling me much, Lex. ¨

¨We aren´t just talking about Chloe´s life, Clark. What happened four years ago...¨Lex tried to explain before his emotions started to overcome him.

¨Something big happened between you two that summer, didn´t it? ¨

¨Things shouldn´t have ended the way they did. ¨

¨You should have stayed away from her. ¨

¨We couldn´t help falling in love, Clark, and I couldn´t leave either of them alone. My father would have had them both silenced. He almost succeeded twice. ¨

¨Are you saying Lionel... ? ¨

¨The safe house explosion and the accident were both attempts of his to stop her from testifying. He wanted her dead and, hurtful as it was, I have to say the crash was a blessing in disguise. It kept Chloe alive. ¨

¨Is Lionel onto her again? ¨

¨He´s tried to find out her whereabouts. I´m sure he wants to discover what she remembers exactly. Although, there may be more to it. ¨

¨What do you mean? ¨

¨My dad´s trying to take control of... 33.1, and I´ve been working to prevent that. ¨

¨Are you trying to convince me you´re the good guy here? ¨

¨Believe what you will, Clark. You wanted to know how things stood, and this is what you´re getting. ¨

¨Do you think your dad suspects anything about you and Chloe? And that he´ll try to use her against you? ¨

¨I´ve given his team some false leads to buy us some time, but dad ´s no fool. ¨

¨But... there´s ample proof you and Chloe ... hate each other. There are witnesses... she´s been working against you for four years... you´ve kidnapped her and submitted her to experiments at 33.1. How could he suspect of there existing feelings between you two beyond hatred? ¨

¨Clark, you know what everyone here knows- that is what I wanted everyone to believe. I´ve done my work perfectly well; and even Chloe- unbeknownst to her- has contributed to my plan. But if dad ever finds out the secret I´ve been keeping from everyone, Chloe included, all my efforts to shelter her will have been in vain. ¨

¨A secret? ¨

¨Yes, Clark. You know what it feels like to be sitting on a secret waiting for it to go off at any moment like a ticking bomb. Always thinking not if it´ll be discovered but when and by whom. I can see on your face you´re dying to know what it is, but you won´t get it out of me, Clark. You´ve never trusted me enough to share yours with me, and I can guarantee you this one is as private and as important as yours must be. Still, I can´t prevent her from confiding in you if she so chooses. She loves you and trusts you, so I´m going to put my faith in your friendship and let her decide what she wants to do. Here, take it, ¨said Lex, throwing him a mobile phone. ¨It´s disposable. Call her. She´ll be happy to hear your voice. Just don´t press her to tell you where she is and listen to her. She needs a friend, ¨finished Lex, putting on his overcoat and walking to the door.

¨Lex? ¨asked the young farm boy with a catch in his voice. ¨Do you think your dad can be stopped? ¨

¨I´ll die trying. Destroy it when you´re done. The call can´t be traced, but there´s no harm in being extra careful. ¨


	11. Haven Part 1

**CHAPTER 10**: Haven (Part 1)

A ranch in Montana

It was eight o´clock of a splendid summer morning and Chloe was sitting at the breakfast table, tasting the best cup of Brazilian coffee she had ever had. She had never been an early bird but she had got used to the new routine. Lex had been right; this was the perfect place to find the peacefulness her soul yearned for and the company she was in ensured she didn´t lose herself in isolation.

The table was laid in a manner that reminded her of breakfast at the Kents´. There were waffles, pancakes, maple syrup, homemade muffins and marmalade. Although Chloe had always preferred to star the morning with an invigorating cup of strong coffee and skip food until lunchtime, the gentle persuasion of the lady of the house had changed her habit. In fact, she now looked forward to the morning ritual when she would share breakfast with the elder woman she had grown so attached to.

¨Did you have a good night´s sleep, darling? ¨

¨Yes, Lisbeth. You don´t have to worry so much about me. ¨

¨What would I tell Alexander if he came back and found out you hadn´t been resting appropriately? Besides, I do care about you, Chloe. You´re a very lovable child and... though my Lillian was different from you in colouring and physique, you remind me of her in many ways. I wish Alexander had had her longer in his life. My son-in-law not only took Lillian away from us, he also tried to poison our grandson´s soul. There´s still hope for Alexander; I can still see something of his mother in him. He deserves so much to be happy... ¨said the patrician lady wistfully. ¨Now, ¨she sighed, putting a smile on her face, ¨what are your plans for today? ¨

¨I was wondering... would you give me permission to cut a bunch of white roses- maybe some jasmines- from your greenhouse? I thought of ... ¨she answered with a tremor in her voice.

¨Today´s another anniversary, isn´t it? ¨responded the elegant lady with a look of understanding in her eyes.

¨Would you mind? ¨

¨Of course not, dear. Tell the gardener to prepare you a pretty bunch. He´ll know who they´re for and will pick the best ones, ¨she smiled, squeezing Chloe´s hand gently.

The blonde reporter was sitting on a bench in the shade of a robust mahogany tree opposite the delicate white marble angel which guarded the tomb of their dead child. She had visited him for the first time with Lex the day she had arrived at the ranch, and she had made a habit of walking to the spot every morning during her stay. An outsider might have told her she was being morbid, rubbing salt into her open wounds, but it was part of her self-imposed therapy. Her moments of solitude in front of the grave helped her make peace with the past and let her embrace and gradually say goodbye to the child she´d never had the chance to hold in her arms.

The name with which Lex had christened the baby- Julian- and the place he had chosen for him to rest- Lillian´s favourite corner when she went on holidays with her parents- were proof of how much he had loved their son.

¨Is there room for someone else? ¨said a masculine cultured voice behind Chloe.

The young woman felt tears prickle behind her eyelids as she nod her assent, the lump in her throat too big for her to speak. It still amazed her how attuned they both were. She had wished with all her might he would come that day and be the someone she could lean on in order to say goodbye to their son. Lex had turned up with his usual grace and with that aura of self-assuredness which sometimes provoked her to slap him, but which today provided her with the serenity she craved for.

¨It´s time to let him go, ¨answered Chloe softly, her eyes somewhat misty. ¨Lex? ¨ she murmured, looking at the young tycoon´s profile and noticing a suspicious brightness in his blue-grey orbs.

Lex pulled himself together and turned around to face the blonde girl. She looked a lot more like the Chloe he had known back in the old days, when he and Clark were still friends. He had made the right decision in bringing her to his grandmother´s ranch. Even though he had reacquainted himself with Lillian´s mum just a little over five years before and had only been able to visit the elderly woman on very few occasions- fearful of rousing Lionel´s suspicions- he had instinctively known Lisbeth would provide Chloe with the loving shelter she needed so badly.

¨Chloe, ¨started Lex, cupping her face with one hand and wiping a stray tear away off her face.

¨Thanks, Lex. Thank you for loving him and... ¨she croaked, ¨for giving him Julian´s name. ¨

¨I didn´t know what you wanted to call him. We hadn´t mentioned any names. ¨

¨I´m glad you chose your brother´s name... and this spot... ¨she added, looking around her with a smile on her lips.

¨It was my mum´s favourite, ¨he responded, barely controlling the emotion which was threatening to overcome him.

¨So said Lisbeth. It´s beautiful. I never thought I´d say this. You know I´m a city creature just like you and that I´ve always regarded Smallville as a pit stop on my way back to Metropolis. Still... I could see myself living here, ¨she confessed. ¨Well... maybe not now, but in a couple of decades, ¨she smirked when Lex shot her a disbelieving look. ¨OK. Make that three decades and add a broadband internet connection or whatever they´ll call it then, ¨she laughed.

¨I´m glad you´ve found this retreat to your liking. ¨

¨Staying with your grandmother´s been like having you around. Now I know where your verbal skills and lexicon spring from. ¨

¨Lexicon? ¨

¨Yeah, well, you´re rubbing off on me, Luthor. ¨

¨Providing my rich vocabulary is the only thing that´s rubbing off on you, ¨he said, turning sober all of a sudden.

¨Lex, we´ve already discussed this.¨

¨I won´t change overnight, Chloe. Despite my efforts to the contrary, I´m still a Luthor. ¨

¨I remember calling you once the lesser of two evils and... ¨

¨Well, thanks, Chloe! That certainly is a consolation. ¨

¨Let me finish, Lex. In spite of how different we see on certain issues, unlike your dad, you have your heart in the right place. ¨

¨Sometimes, it doesn´t seem that way. ¨

¨I remember what you did for the Kents and for so many people when you had just come to town. I don´t know what happened later, you let yourself be dragged by the darkness surrounding your dad and your name- I suppose. I´ve done a lot of thinking these three months and... I sincerely hope I haven´t contributed to this downward spiral of yours, ¨she said, locking her green eyes with his.

¨We´re accountable for our own choices, Chloe. You can´t blame yourself for my decisions. ¨

¨This is a two-way street, Lex. You can´t take the blame for my actions, either. ¨

¨You know why I had to do it, Chloe. ¨

¨I do, but I don´t want you to do it again. I´m a big girl now, and it´s time I grew up... Could I ask something of you? ¨

¨A new laptop? You´ve got it. In fact, I´ve brought it with me. ¨

¨You have? ¨

¨No internet connection, I´m afraid.¨

¨Your a spoilsport, Lex. However, I do understand. You´ve made the right decision; it´d be too hard for my inquisitive mind to resist. So... thanks for the gift. ¨

¨You´re welcome. Now, tell me, what were you going to ask me for? ¨

¨I was wondering... Could you... ¨she cut herself off, ¨could you... ¨ she started again and focused her eyes on the angel.

¨Tell me, Chloe, ¨he said softly, turning her face gently to see her eyes. ¨What do you want me to do? ¨

¨My dad.¨

¨Yes? ¨

¨I´d like him... to lie here... next to Julian. He hated cemeteries... and this place... I know he´d have liked it, ¨she answered, biting her lower lip.

¨Consider it done. Still, we´ll have to wait a little bit. ¨

¨I know. Your dad, right? ¨

¨I promise you it´ll be over soon, ¨he said, caressing her cheek and smiling sadly at her before getting up.

¨Lex, ¨she called him, grabbing his hand to detain him.

¨What´s wrong? ¨he asked as she walked up to him.

¨Nothing´s wrong, ¨she answered throatily and, standing on tiptoe, placed a hand on his nape and brought their lips together.

Lex closed his eyes when he felt Chloe´s warm pliant lips on his. How much he had missed her breath upon his mouth! He let her mould her lips to his and, the moment the tip of her tongue traced the scar on his upper lip, he opened his mouth to invite her in. The kiss was languid and, as Chloe felt their tongues mate, her legs threatened to wobble. He tasted like mint and smelled so heavenly that she was afraid she would melt in a puddle.

Four years had gone by, but nothing had changed. She still tasted of coffee beans and chocolate and could make him lose his trademark cool with a kiss. He was hungry for her lips and had to make a supreme effort not to let his ardour take over. He wanted her to be the one to set the pace and decide how far and how fast they´d go.

Chloe couldn´t help but compare Jimmy Olsen´s endearing clumsiness with Lex´s confident loving skills and wondered what it´d feel like to lie in his arms again if just a kiss of his could make her feel so much. ´Oh, Jimmy, you never stood a chance!´ she thought, as she tugged at Lex´s lower lip and finished the kiss reluctantly with a beaming smile.

¨What´s so funny, Miss Sullivan? ¨asked Lex when he saw her stifle a laugh.

¨It´s a private joke, ¨ she beamed.

¨You´re going to give me an inferiority complex, Chloe. Have you by any chance found me lacking? ¨

¨Oh, come on, Lex!¨

¨So? ¨ he cocked an eyebrow.

¨So? ¨she echoed with a smirk.

¨What was it like? ¨

¨Nice, ¨she said, trying to look serious.

¨Nice? ¨ he frowned.

¨OK, very nice, ¨she amended. ¨I could feel my toes curl in my shoes, ¨she added with a smile. ¨You rocked my world, Luthor. Satisfied? ¨

¨There´s no need to overdo it, Chloe. ¨

¨It´s the truth, Lex, ¨she responded, looking into his blue-grey eyes . ¨I don´t know what you´re planning to do, ¨she sighed. ¨Just take care, please, ¨she begged him, pressing a quick kiss on his mouth. ¨Now, let´s say goodbye to Julian. Your grandmother must be looking forward to seeing you, and I want to open my present, ¨she finished, grabbing him by his left hand.


	12. Haven Part 2

**CHAPTER 10**: Haven (Part 2)

At about seven o´clock, when Chloe was stretched out on the sofa with her brand-new state-of-the-art laptop and Lex was sprawled in an armchair opposite her, nursing a snifter of vintage brandy, Lisbeth knocked gently on the door of the library and stepped inside.

¨Sorry to disturb you, darlings. There´s a young man to see you, Alexander, ¨she announced. ¨He hasn´t told me his name. He said you´d know who he is. ¨

¨A young man? ¨frowned Chloe, shooting a questioning glance at Lex.

¨What does he look like, Lisbeth? ¨asked Lex.

¨Well-off, good-looking, brooding... ¨

¨It isn´t Clark, then. But... who else knows you might be here? ¨asked the blonde reporter with a hint of nervousness that didn´t pass unnoticed by Lex.

¨Don´t worry, Chloe. I do know who he is. Tell him I´ll see him in the study, Lisbeth. He´s a friend, Chloe. I trust him implicitly, ¨he responded, giving her hand a squeeze.

¨I´ve already shown him to the study, Alexander. I´ll tell Suzy to prepare something light, in case he hasn´t had dinner yet. ¨

¨That´d be nice, Lisbeth, ¨he thanked his grandmother with a sincere smile before she left the room.

¨Lex, is everything all right? ¨ asked Chloe, sensing the tension which had suddenly seized the billionaire.

¨I´ve got everything under control. He promised to do something for me and must be here to keep me up to speed, ¨answered the young tycoon.

¨What exactly have you asked him to do? ¨she queried, setting her feet on the floor and leaving the laptop on the coffee table.

¨He´s doing some digging for me. I´d rather do it myself, but I don´t want my name connected with it. ¨

¨If I had an internet connection... ¨started Chloe.

¨I don´t want you to meddle in this business, Chloe, ¨he cut her off. ¨I won´t risk losing you again. ¨

¨I know, but... ¨

¨Chloe, ¨he warned her. ¨You´re here to recover and be safe. Let´s not jeopardise that, ¨he added gravely.

¨It´s just that I feel so useless, Lex. Your grandmother´s wonderful and she´s made me feel at home, but I´m itching to come back to work. ¨

¨Why do you think I´ve brought you the laptop, Chloe? ¨

¨Don´t get me wrong, Lex. I love the present and I´ve started working on something, but what´s the use if it´ll never see the light. ¨

¨Maybe you should work on something more ambitious. ¨

¨More ambitious? ¨

¨Yes. Instead of writing articles that won´t be printed in the short-term, why not write something that might be published in the long run? ¨

¨Such as? ¨

¨How about a book based on your experience as a high school reporter? You know, growing up in Smallville. I bet you´ve got hundreds of stories to recount. It´d be sort of a wall-of-the-weird on paper. ¨

¨Do you think there´d be someone interested in printing it, least of all reading it?¨

¨There´s an audience for everything, Chloe, and people love a good mystery. ¨

¨I guess it´d help me while away the hours. However, I wouldn´t be doing much to help you. ¨

¨You´re doing a lot more than you think, Chloe, ¨he responded, cupping her face in his hands.

¨I don´t see how... ¨she started before he silenced her with a lingering kiss on her mouth.

¨You don´t have to stay up waiting for me. I don´t know how long this´ll take, ¨he added when he broke the kiss.

¨Lex? ¨Chloe called him when he opened the mahogany doors. ¨Will I meet him? ¨

¨I don´t know if he´s staying the night. ¨

¨Well-off, good-looking, brooding... he seems like my kind of guy, ¨she smiled.

¨Should I be jealous? ¨he cocked an eyebrow.

¨Is he richer than you are? You know I´m a high-maintenance kind of girl. ¨

¨Oh, yes. Poor me. Internet flat fees are too expensive nowadays and... come to think of it... you spend a fortune on vintage clothes. ¨

¨Are you criticising my wardrobe, Luthor?¨she feigned being offended.

¨You´re an original, Chloe. You know I love the way you dress, ¨he smirked.

¨OK, go. And tell your friend I´m looking forward to meeting him, ¨she finished, plopping down on the sofa and retrieving her laptop. ¨I´ll play some solitaires and then, I´ll go up to my room with a volume from Lisbeth´s well-stocked library. ¨

¨Sleep tight, ¨he answered, locking her eyes briefly with the blonde´s, letting her see a fleeting look of yearning which tug at her heart strings. She had come to feel the pull constantly when he was around her and missed his nearness when he was away. She knew the inevitable was approaching, and she treasured his effort to let her be the one to decide when to take the following step- a difficult concession for a man used to taking what he wanted whenever he pleased.

¨You, too, Lex, ¨she whispered, as he stepped into the corridor.


	13. The Visitor

**CHAPTER 11**: The Visitor

Lex walked down the mahogany-panelled corridor, thinking of the look he had seen reflected in Chloe´s eyes. He had given her time and space- it was the right and gentlemanly thing to do- but he was growing restless. Realising she was also experiencing the same kind of anxiety had given him a certain degree of satisfaction for it meant not only that she was ready to give him a second chance, but that the wounds were healing.

¨Good evening, Bruce, ¨Lex greeted his former boarding-school classmate on entering the study.

¨Good evening, Lex, ¨answered the billionaire who Gotham´s criminals had come to know as Batman, getting up of the armchair and extending his hand for a handshake.

¨You´ve made quite an impression on my grandmother, and she´s a hard woman to please, ¨said Metropolis young tycoon, shaking Bruce´s hand.

¨She´s a charming lady. Your mother must have been a very beautiful woman, Lex, ¨came Wayne´s warm answer.

¨She was to me, ¨responded a poker-faced Lex. ¨So... what have you got for me, Bruce? ¨he asked, inviting him to resume his seat with a gesture of his hand. ¨A drink? Lisbeth´s asked for a light dinner to be served in case you were hungry,¨ he added, walking to a mini-bar.

¨That´s very thoughtful of her; and yes, I´ll have a double malt on the rocks, please, ¨said Bruce, sitting down in an armchair.

¨OK. Let´s hear what you´ve got to say, ¨responded Lionel´s first-born, handing his friend a tumbler and uncapping a bottle of Tŷ Nant for himself.

¨Your old man knows what he´s doing. It wasn´t at all easy to follow his steps, but you were right, Lex, LuthorCorp´s behind the recent disappearance of some of Arkham´s most notorious inmates. The project known as ´A New Tomorrow´ is founded by a ghost organisation whose funds are virtually untraceable.¨

¨How many of the missing inmates have been recruited as subjects for the project? ¨

¨All of them. ¨

¨My suspicions were correct then. My dad´s been using both Belle Reve and Arkham as suppliers of material for his latest research. ¨

¨Have you got any news from your contact in Belle Reve, Lex? ¨

¨He called me this morning using a scrambler I provided him with. He thinks they´ve got something planned for tomorrow night. ¨

¨That cannot be good for Smallville. ¨

¨We´ve got something that Gotham´s people didn´t. We know the when, the who and... we´ll get the where soon. All the inmates who have become part of ´A New Tomorrow´ have been implanted a tracking device courtesy of Lexcorp Electronics division. The procedure was performed at 33.1 with the cooperation of my contact at Belle Reve, and the patients were later returned to the sanatorium with their memories of the night erased. ¨

¨If you were able to convince this person to cooperate with you and have the patients transferred to 33.1, why didn´t you carry out an extraction operation? Dozens of patients would have already been saved. ¨

¨You aren´t looking at the big picture, Bruce. I would have saved a few but jeopardised countless others. I had to return the inmates or else my father would have found the way to make my access to them impossible. Considering last time 20 of the inmates who had been implanted were eliminated by my father´s team before they could take me to wherever it is he´s got the headquarters of this project, I had my researchers develop a new tracking device. The new implant leaves no scars and it´s injected directly into the bone marrow. I hope this time my father won´t sacrifice any new subjects before we have him in our clutches. By the way, does that charming childhood friend of yours still work for the D.A.? ¨

¨Rachel Dawes? Yes, she´s still at the D.A.´s office. And I believe this time you´ll be pleased to know I´ve predicted your next move. ¨

¨Will I? ¨

¨I´ve already talked with her- off-the-record, of course. She said the D.A. would be willing to make a deal with you if you gave them your father on a silver platter. She can´t promise you won´t have to serve some time. Even if you aren´t part of the project, you´re a member of the Board of Directors of the corporation which has financed it and, as such, you´re an accessory to the crime. ¨

¨I´m well aware of that. It´d be a small price to pay to see my father end up where he belongs. ¨

¨Gotham´s D.A. will just prosecute your father for Arkham´s disappearances, Belle Reve´s out of its jurisdiction. ¨

¨We´ll try to convince your friend to introduce Belle Reve some time during the trial. Even if the judge were to dismiss the allegation, it´d be already out in the open; and with the coverage this case´ll get, I´m certain the Metropolis D.A.´s office will be forced to open its own investigation. ¨

¨What I still don´t get is why Lionel would be interested in getting to Miss Sullivan. ¨

¨Her testimony could be damaging for him if he were tried for my grandparents´ murder, but I guess that´d be the least of his worries. No, what I fear is that he´ll want to use Chloe against me. He needs 33.1 for his project. He needs the equipment, the technology and the whole research I have. Prior to the flooding of Reeves Dam, my team had made an outstanding advancement. I was on the verge of providing our armed forces with an almost invincible weapon. ¨

¨ Aren´t you afraid Wayne Enterprises might steal your technology? ¨

¨Believe me, Bruce, Project Ares isn´t the kind of business an entrepreneur like you would get involved with. ¨

¨My morals aren´t as clear-cut as you seem to believe, Lex. I´m a shadier character than you think. ¨

¨Oh, I´m well aware of that, Bruce. Why do you think we´ve been friends this long? But I´m also aware of where you´d draw the line. And, trust me, this would be it. ¨

A couple of hours later, both billionaires emerged from the study satisfied with the strategy they´d been working on for the following evening. They were discussing the short-sightedness of political and military leaders who brought countries to war over oil- clearly their eyes should have been focused on water, according to Lex- when they reached the stairs and saw Chloe climbing down.

¨You´re still up, ¨said Lex with a hint of reproach.

¨I couldn´t sleep, ¨smiled Chloe, looking at the attractive young man standing behind him, ¨and I thought I could ... ¨

¨Eavesdrop? ¨finished Lex, cocking an eyebrow. ¨You can´t use the excuse of coming down to the library for a book. Remember you took one up when I left you to meet Bruce. ¨

¨Bruce? ¨she echoed, shooting a quizzical glance at the smirking brown-haired man. ¨Would that be Bruce Wayne, by any chance?¨

¨The one and only, ¨answered Gotham´s playboy, making a vow.

¨Lois hasn´t exaggerated for the first time in her life. You do look dashing in a tux. ¨

¨And who would this Lois be? ¨asked Bruce.

¨A reporter with a big mouth and lousy taste in men, ¨Lex butted in through clenched teeth.

¨She´s my cousin- Lois Lane, ¨she responded to Bruce. ¨And why do you say she´s got poor taste in guys, Lex? ¨she frowned, shifting her gaze to the younger Luthor. ¨Oliver´s a good-looking fellow. ¨

¨Oliver´s a pompous ass, ¨glared Lex.

¨Oliver? ¨asked Gotham´s billionaire with a puzzled look on his face.

¨Queen, ¨hissed Lex.

¨Well, I have to agree with Miss Sullivan... he´s no Quasimodo, ¨he said gravely and stifled a laugh when he saw his former classmate´s barely repressed rage. ¨Although, ¨he added conciliatorily, ¨his sanctimonious Robin Hood act can be a pain in the butt sometimes. ¨

¨His foundation´s helped a lot of people, ¨Chloe stoked up the fire.

¨Helping people in need´s fine. He just shouldn´t boast about it as if his current good deeds would erase the fact he´s a murderer!¨exploded Lex, leaving Chloe speechless.

¨Miss Sullivan, ¨Bruce greeted her, taking a step forward and grazing her hand with a kiss, ¨it´s been a pleasure. Now, if you´ll excuse me, I´ll go to bed. It´s been a very eventful day, ¨he excused himself, knowing full well Lex had already regretted his outburst and wouldn´ t like him to be present when the lady started with her line of questioning- it had taken Bruce just a couple of minutes to size the petite blonde up and realise she wasn´t a quitter.

¨It´s been nice meeting you, Mr Wayne, ¨she answered with a catch in her voice.

¨Be nice, ¨ he told Chloe under his breath.¨Good night, Lex, ¨he said calmly, looking at the poker-faced Metropolis billionaire.

¨Good night, Bruce, and thanks for everything, ¨he responded with the ghost of a smile.

¨We´ll get him, ¨finished Wayne, patting his friend on the back before climbing up the stairs to the bedroom Lisbeth had had aired for him.

As the sound of Bruce´s footsteps on the hardwood corridor receded, the green-eyed reporter walked up to Lex, who had turned around to go back to the study.

¨Lex, ¨choked Chloe, ¨what did you mean... ¨

¨Let it rest, Chloe, ¨he said coldly, pushing the oak double doors open.

¨I won´t just let it rest. You´ve called Oliver Queen a murderer and... ¨

¨What were you trying to do back there, Chloe? ¨he cut her off, grabbing a snifter and taking the stopper off a decanter. ¨Make me jealous?¨he asked, taking a gulp of bourbon.

¨What are you talking about? I´ve just happened to mention Bruce is... ¨

¨Wayne doesn´t need to be reminded 98 of the female population find him irresistible. He´s already too full of himself. And Queen? You had to go and talk about him when you know he made my life and Duncan´s a living hell at Excelsior. I regret the day I thought I needed friends like Queen and his gang. If I hadn´t been weak, Duncan would still be alive... I can do my best to stomach you finding Bruce attractive but not Queen, never Queen, ¨he smouldered.

¨I´m not in love with Queen, Lex. And I think Bruce Wayne´s an attractive and charming guy, but it isn´t the thought of him that keeps me awake at night, ¨she said throatily, covering Lex´s hand with hers and forcing him to put down the snifter. ¨Now, stop hiding behind a glass and tell me about Duncan. ¨

¨I don´t feel like talking about him tonight, ¨he murmured, fastening his eyes on her lips and then letting them roam over the features until his grey-blue orbs met her green pools. ¨Go back to bed, Chloe, ¨he sobered, putting some distance between the two.

¨Don´t do that, Lex. Don´t pull back, ¨she pleaded, grabbing his left-hand to stop him.

¨My talking about Duncan won´t help. Tomorrow´s a big day, Chloe, and I can´t afford going down memory lane right now, ¨he said matter-of-factly.

¨What´s going to happen tomorrow? Why is Bruce here?¨ she insisted. ¨Is this about your father? ¨she added as an afterthought when Lex closed like a clam. ¨What´s ´A New Tomorrow´? ¨ she ventured.

¨How much of the conversation have you heard, Chloe? ¨he tensed up.

¨I haven´t... ¨ she started.

¨How much? ¨he repeated, putting his hands on her shoulders in a gesture which reminded Chloe of the days when they had worked together to bring Lionel down.

¨Enough to know that everything I wrote about LuthorCorp in that article was true. ¨

¨Now you do understand why I couldn´t let The Planet print that article. It would have been like helping you sign your death sentence, ¨he explained, swallowing the lump in his throat as he caressed her cheek and resisted the urge to taste those lips whose sweetness he could still remember by just closing his eyes.

¨What are you waiting for, Lex? ¨she asked wistfully, bringing their bodies closer and feeling her skin tingle in anticipation when she saw his pupils darken.

¨I´ve been waiting four long years to hear you say that, ¨he confessed, threading his fingers through her lemon-scented hair and leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers. ¨Chloe, ¨he murmured as he grazed her pulse with his lips and felt her heartbeat quicken.

¨Lex, shouldn´t we... ¨she moaned when Lex´s hand brush the underside of one of her breasts and he claimed her mouth in a desperately hungry kiss which left them breathless.

¨You´re so beautiful and so god dam selfless, ¨he said throatily.

¨Asking you to take what you want isn´t being selfless, Lex, ¨she responded with a catch in her voice. ¨I´m thinking about me for a change. I deserve to be happy and so do you. No matter what your bastard of a father has tried to make you believe or what others might think of you, you deserve to be loved just as much as I do, in spite of our flaws and our shortcomings, ¨she added, looking into his stormy blue-grey eyes. ¨No, ¨she cut him off, putting her hand on his lips, ¨let me finish, please. I know what you´re going to say... That you aren´t what I need in my life, that you don´t deserve me. Well, guess what, I´m not perfect, Lex. Hell, I can´t even give you another child... ! ¨she went on with glassy eyes.

¨Chloe, ¨he shook his head, tipping her face up with his hand, ¨there´s no woman in this world apart from my mum who´s meant or will ever mean as much as you do to me. Never ever think I´d love you less because you can´t carry a child now. As I see it, you´re already the mother of our son- Julian´s mother. There are thousands of babies who´ll never know the love of a mother and our baby did. Maybe you didn´t get the chance to hold him, but he was loved and he was wanted, and you carried him in your womb for almost six months, ¨he said passionately.

¨Lex, ¨she interrupted him with a strangled voice.

¨I´d do anything for you, Chloe. And if seeing you happy means having a child in our lives... there´s always adoption. We both know what it feels to be abandoned or unloved, ¨he finished, boring his eyes in her.

¨Then, let´s stop torturing ourselves with the past or what might happen tomorrow, Lex. I know there are no guarantees things will turn out the way we want them, and we´ve been through enough to know they can be snatched away from us in the most sudden and cruellest of ways. Stop denying what we both want, and don´t think about whatever it is tomorrow´ll bring. If your dad´s already found out about us, our not making love tonight won´t change a thing. I don´t want to wake up alone the day after tomorrow regretting not knowing what it felt like to be in your arms again, ¨she said emotionally.

¨It´s not in my plans to leave you alone, Chloe, ¨he responded, tightening his hold on her.

¨I´m not saying you´d do it on purpose, Lex. But I don´t know what you and Bruce have got up your sleeve, and I know your father better than to underestimate him. I don´t want to lose you, Lex, but neither of us are immortal and I won´t deny myself any longer out of pride or stupid stubbornness. ¨

¨How long have you been feeling like this, Chloe? ¨he murmured in her ear, feeling her shiver in his arms.

¨For a couple of months now, ¨she answered short of breath as he leaned into her.

¨Just a couple of months? ¨he smiled cockily as he brushed her lips with his.

¨You´re so full of yourself, Lex. I´ve always wanted you. Satisfied? Even when I hated you. Even the night you walked in the newsroom of The Planet and threatened me. I always told myself it was hatred, because admitting the truth was too damn difficult. Now... shall we stop babbling, Lex? Our verbal judo´s always been exciting and even arousing at times, but I´ve had enough of it for one night. ¨

¨Impatient, aren´t we? ¨he responded, coaxing her mouth open until their tongues met again in a kiss which reflected what was too come.

¨Who´s impatient, now? ¨she giggled as she felt the tell-tale signs of his body against hers.

¨Are you making fun of me, Chloe? ¨he asked parting her robe to caress one milky breast until her peak was so taut that she had to beg him to do something about it. ¨God, you´re so perfect, ¨he whispered, giving the same attention to her other breast while she fumbled with his belt.

¨Lex, ¨she moaned when his mouth moved from her breast to her stomach, scattering kisses all the way down until he reached the lace of her hip-high knickers and stopped.

The young billionaire looked up to lock his eyes with her green orbs and straightened up to press an almost chaste kiss on her lips. He knew her body was more than ready to sheathe him, but he didn´t want their lovers´ reunion to be on an uncomfortable sofa or, worse, on his grandmother´s mahogany desk. What they felt for each other was too sublime to be celebrated with a frenzied coupling more fitting for two animals in heat than for two human beings in love.

Lex wanted her to remember every caress, every kiss and every sigh. She had no memory of the summer night she had given her virginity to him, and he was aware this would be like the first time for her since she had never lain with anyone but him. In fact, he had almost cried in relief when she had told him she´d never gone beyond a few kisses with Jimmy.

¨Chloe, love, let´s go upstairs, ¨he said against her lips, threading his fingers through her hair.

¨Why have you stopped? Are you afraid someone might hear us? ¨she complained.

¨I want for it to be perfect, Chloe, ¨he responded. ¨And trust me on this one. My experience with you tells me we should be far away from curious ears, ¨he smiled knowingly.

¨Are you implying what you think you´re implying, Mr Luthor? ¨she cocked an eyebrow.

¨You´re a very passionate woman, Miss Sullivan. And that´s all I´m saying, ¨he smirked. ¨Fasten your robe, love. I wouldn´t like Bruce to get any ideas. ¨

¨What do you mean? ¨she frowned.

¨Knowing Bruce, he must be straining his ears to make sure there´s no threat lurking round the corners of the ranch. I don´t think he´ll sleep tonight. If he hears you go past his door, he might open it just a crack to have a look into the corridor, and I wouldn´t like him to see you half naked. ¨

¨Aren´t you coming up with me? ¨she answered, covering herself up.

¨I will. You go ahead to your room- it´s more secluded than mine. I´ll join you in ten minutes. ¨

¨But... ¨

¨Chloe... In the state I´m now I might get carried away. Being rough with you is the last thing I want; not when it´s been so long. Trust me, it´ll be better this way. ¨

¨I´m counting on your stamina, Mr Luthor, ¨she taunted him.

¨Go up before I forget my resolve, Chloe, ¨he said through clenched teeth.

¨OK, I´ll go. Just leave those decanters alone or I´ll think I´m an unsavoury task. ¨

¨Oh, there´s no fear of that. You´re intoxicating enough, ¨he murmured to himself as she shut the door carefully on her way out.

A/N: You can read the disclaimer in chapter 1. Bruce Wayne and the characters of Batman´s universe belong to Bob Kane and DC Comics.


	14. One Again

**CHAPTER 12**: One again

Chloe woke up as the first light of sunrise filtered into her bedroom to find Lex´s warm body spooning her naked form from behind. She turned her head a little to look at him and smiled contentedly when she felt his arm tighten around her waist possessively. If anyone had told her four months before that she would wake up a sated woman in the arms of her lover, and that those arms would be Lex´s, she would have sent them to have their minds examined. 

Memories of the previous night came rushing to her mind as she snuggled closer to him and the faint perfume of vanilla on his skin invaded her nostrils, making her blush. Lex had been totally in control the first time, completely focused on her pleasure. He had been gentle and loving, giving her body time to adjust to his. Chloe couldn´t help but admire his restraint; the fact that he could be so selfless in the act of love-making when he was used to getting his way in almost everything made her love him even more. 

From the moment Lex had entered the bedroom- which had been her sanctuary for two months- he had worshipped Chloe´s body with his eyes, his mouth and his hands. He had used his gravelly voice to whisper endearments against her feverish skin and kissed that particular spot behind her ear which made her heartbeat quicken, while his fingertips rediscovered the contours and indentures he had memorised like Braille that summer. His gentle hands had played her like the most exquisite of instruments and his mouth had poured honey into her ears, bringing her to a shattering orgasm with his clothes still on.

Chloe would later thank the billionaire´s presence of mind when it came to preparing her for the moment their bodies would become one; she had been so tight that, if she hadn´t known she´d carried their child, she´d have sworn she was still a virgin.

Being enveloped in Chloe´s warmth after so long had been the hardest test of restraint for Lex, who had almost lost it when her body had welcomed him for the first time that night and immediately climaxed once again. It had taken Lex all his self-control to let her savour the overwhelming assault of the senses without giving way to his own desires- he had felt the urge to move when he felt the sweet pulsing glove around him, but he wanted her body to reacquaint itself with his before letting himself go.

_¨Lex, ¨she moaned, wrapping her legs around him and catching her breath when she felt him more deeply._

_¨Easy, love, ¨he murmured, sliding his hands along her thighs to make her slacken the hold around his hips. ¨I don´t want to hurt you, ¨he added, brushing his lips with hers and coaxing her mouth open to distract her while he started a gentle rocking motion. ¨You´re lovely, ¨he said throatily as her body imitated his and Chloe´s eyes glazed. ¨I´m sorry, ¨he slowed down as she started to cry._

_¨Don´t stop, ¨she choked, tightening her hold on him and urging him on. ¨Let go, Lex. ¨_

_¨I can´t, ¨he swallowed the lump in his throat as he felt his own control reach the end of the tether._

_¨Don´t fight it, Lex, ¨she replied with tears rolling down her cheeks._

_¨You´re crying, Chloe, ¨he murmured with a tremor in his voice, wiping away two big teardrops with his thumbs. ¨This is why I wanted to wait before coming up. ¨_

_¨You aren´t hurting me, Lex, you clod head... it´s just that... I´ve never thought... it´d feel this way, ¨she smiled dreamily._

_¨Is that good? ¨he asked with the ghost of a smile._

_¨Keep doing that and you´ll know just how much... ¨she responded breathlessly, ¨now. ¨_

_Lex cradled her soft curves__with trembling hands as his seed filled the beloved womb which had nestled the fruit of their love, and his mouth swallowed the vocalisation of her sweet release._

_¨Love you, ¨she croaked, boring her green eyes into him. ¨Don´t, ¨she told him pleadingly when he moved to leave her warmth. ¨Not yet. ¨ _

_¨Chloe...¨he responded with bright eyes, ¨I... ¨_

_¨You don´t need to say it... I know, ¨she smiled warmly, pressing a kiss on the palm of his hand._

_¨You may know it but... I want to say it. I´ve never said it before, not even then... I couldn´t ... I didn´t know how... ¨he stammered overwhelmed by emotion._

_¨I´m sure you showed me without having to resort to words, Lex. ¨_

_¨You need to hear them, Chloe... just as much as I need to say them... I love you, Chloe Sullivan, ¨he said emotionally. ¨And I´ll do whatever it takes to show you how much. ¨_

Warmth spread all over Chloe in the early morning when Lex stirred behind her and she felt his mouth press a soft kiss on her pulse.

¨Good morning, ¨he murmured as she turned her face slightly towards him and he brushed his lips with hers.

¨Good morning, ¨she answered breathless and deepened the kiss.

¨Chloe, ¨he moaned when she started a trail of kisses from his jaw all the way down to his navel. ¨God, now you see why I insisted on coming to this wing, ¨he added, grabbing her by the arms and pulling her up until her naked breasts rested on his torso.

¨It´s your fault, Lex. You shouldn´t be so irresistible, ¨she smiled, looking into his stormy blue-grey eyes and seeing the corners of his mouth tilt up.

¨We should be getting up. Bruce must be already downstairs, and... ¨started Lex.

¨He´ll understand, Lex. He´s not clueless like Clark, ¨she cut him off, resting her head on his chest.

¨OK, just a couple of minutes, but then I really have to go downstairs, Chloe, ¨he responded throatily, threading his fingers through her silky blond hair.

¨OK, ¨ she said wistfully and her eyes welled up with tears.

¨Chloe, ¨he called her gently.

¨It´s all right, Lex, ¨she repeated with a catch in her voice.

¨Chloe, look at me, ¨he insisted, cupping her face in both hands. ¨You know there´s nothing in this world I´d love more than to stay here with you, but there are things that need to be done. ¨

¨I know, ¨she croaked as two tears rolled down her cheeks. ¨It´s just that... ¨she stifled a sob. ¨I don´t want to lose you when I´ve just found you again. ¨

¨You won´t lose me, Chloe, ¨he said matter-of-factly. ¨I promise you there´ll be more nights like last night. And hopefully, next time you´ll be wearing my ring, ¨he said boring his eyes into her and wiping her tears away.

¨It´ll be better Bruce brings you back in one piece or else he´ll taste the Irish wrath of a Sullivan, ¨she responded gravely, sitting up on the bed and pulling the sheet off Lex´s body to wrap it around hers. ¨What? ¨she exclaimed, looking at him as she stood next to the bed, clutching the material tightly to stop it from slipping down to the floor.

¨I´ve forgotten how beautiful you look when you get all serious, ¨he said with a smile. ¨And how you can blush and be so modest, while you´re so uninhibited in my arms, ¨he added with a velvety voice.

¨I know what you´re trying to do, Lex, ¨she said, blushing furiously. ¨You´re trying to distract me, but I can´t help worrying when you won´t tell me what it is you and Bruce are doing tonight. ¨

¨I don´t want a repeat of what we´ve been through, Chloe. You should stay out of this.¨

¨I´m already in, Lex. If you´re going after your father, I´ve got a right to know. I want us to be completely honest with each other. ¨

¨I´ll try to do my best, Chloe. But you know there are things I won´t tell you. ¨

¨I´m used to the Luthor secretiveness. I´m not talking about your shady business deals. I´m talking about the things that concern us as a couple. This one is as much business as it´s personal. Lex, ¨she sighed, ¨This thing with your dad´s going to end up badly for one of you. I don´t want you to lose your soul over this, and I don´t want to have to visit your tomb next to Julian´s. ¨

¨I´ve killed people, Chloe, but I won´t murder my dad- if that´s what you´re fearing. I´m not him. I´m not a patricide, ¨he said grimly.

¨Do you think your dad will have any scruples when it comes to you? I´d understand it if you felt tempted to put a bullet in his brain because of everything he´s done to you over the years. ¨

¨I just want justice to be served. Maybe he won´t end up in jail for the murder of his parents, but he´ll pay for what he´s been doing to those inmates. I´m not a hypocrite, Chloe. I may not have had a hand in this project of his, but Ares was as morally questionable as this. There´s a chance I´ll have to serve some time once this is over. I´m part of LuthorCorp´s Board of Directors and, as such, I´m responsible for every decision that´s taken in the name of the corporation. I´m ready for it. The question is... will you be there when I come out? ¨

¨You already know the answer to that, Lex, ¨she choked. ¨We may not agree on many issues, but I still love you. If being apart for a while is the price we´ve got to pay to save the Emily Dinsmores of this world from a monster such as your dad... I´ll stand by you whichever decision you make. ¨

¨Thanks, Chloe. You don´t know what it means to hear you say that, ¨he said throatily as he tugged at her arm to pull her back to bed.

Chloe lay beside him on the mattress with her body facing him and brought a hand up to gently caress his cheek. She felt Lex trace her curves and indentures with loving devotion and, leaning in to meet his mouth in a leisurely kiss, she let him make sweet love to her once again before the alarm clock told them it was time they got dressed for breakfast downstairs.

¨It pleases you, doesn´t it? ¨asked Lex as he fastened the strap of his Napoleon franc watch around his wrist and adjusted his tie in front of the mirror. 

¨What pleases me? ¨she responded with a mocking smile he saw reflected in the looking glass.

¨To be able to slip through the cracks of my armour from time to time. To prove that I´m not as unflappable as it seems, ¨he smirked, putting on the cufflinks. ¨You finally got what you wanted from me when you woke up this morning. ¨

¨Well... that´s not exactly true. You haven´t told me what it is you´re doing with Bruce tonight, ¨she responded, locking her green eyes with his. ¨Come on, Lex. You know that if I set my mind to it, I can discover it on my own. The only thing´s you won´t approve of my methods. ¨

¨You´re pushing your luck, Chloe, ¨he said through clenched teeth.

¨I won´t ask you to tell me where you´re going, just to share what you know with me. ¨

¨I can´t tell you where we´re going because I honestly don´t know. We´ll use the tracking devices implanted in the inmates for that. ¨

¨Is your father gathering meteor freaks to create his own army or what? ¨

¨I wish I knew what he wants with them, Chloe. The only thing I know for certain´s that, unlike Ares, his project doesn´t have any government endorsement. It has to be something really 

important to him though , to have sacrificed several subjects the night you had Clark remove your implant. ¨

¨Does your dad know about me and my power? ¨she asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.

¨We can´t be sure. I hope he didn´t have enough time to get any information out of your mum. That´s one of the reasons I had her taken to 33.1. She was an easy prey at Belle Reve. I won´t lie to you, Chloe, I thought she could be used to rid Smallville of some of its most dangerous threats, but she was also the easiest way to get to you, if my father ever learnt the truth about us. ¨

¨How is she, Lex? ¨she asked with misty eyes.

¨Her doctors are very optimistic, Chloe. The drug my research team has produced will have to be injected on a regular basis. It´s an expensive treatment but I´ve got the means and the disposition to do this for her. As regards tonight... I can´t tell you more, Chloe. You´ll have to trust me. ¨

¨I trust you, Lex. It´s your father I don´t trust. ¨

¨That´s why I´ve got my team and Bruce´s as back-up. We´ll get him, Chloe, ¨he assured her from the doorway.

Chloe heard the click of the door as it shut and she went straight to the dresser for a change of underwear before taking a pair of khakis and a black t-shirt from the wardrobe. She would have a quick shower, go down for breakfast, make some chit-chat with the guest of honour and, once both billionaires had left for Metropolis, she would sneak into the office of the ranch´s administrator to use the internet connection. Fortunately, she still had her kit for break-ins stashed away. She would do as Lex had said- she would stay put- but she´d make sure he had his back properly covered.


	15. Going After the Devil Part 1

**CHAPTER 13**: Going after the Devil (Part I )

Lex and Bruce boarded Wayne Enterprises´ chopper around ten o´clock in the morning to fly to Metropolis. Driving was out of the question because crossing four states to get to Kansas on time for the operation would be an impossible feat- even for two devil-may-care billionaires in a Porsche and a Ferrari. Taking Lex´s own helicopter to Lisbeth´s ranch would have left a trail for Lionel to follow, and they were now too close to jeopardise everything.

The flight to Bruce´s estate in the outskirts of Metropolis was uneventful, but Lex´s mind was too full of Chloe to really notice what was going on around him. He went over every detail of their night together and everything that had passed between them in the morning, including the fleeting look he had caught in her eyes when he had said goodbye to her in the parlour. She had promised she wouldn´t interfere and still, his gut told him she´d try to do something.

There were a couple of times during their flight when he felt tempted to ask the pilot to turn back and, if it hadn´t been for the tip he had got from the doctor at Belle Reve, he´d have carried out his wish. He would have kept her locked in the room, loved her, pampered her and made sure no harm came to her.

¨You´ve been more brooding than usual, Lex, ¨said Bruce. ¨Are you afraid of what she might do? ¨he cocked an eyebrow.

¨I hope she won´t do anything stupid, ¨sighed Lex.

¨I saw the way you looked at each other this morning. You´re a lucky guy, Lex. I don´t think she´ll jeopardise what you have. ¨

¨You don´ t know her as well as I do. She´s stubborn. ¨

¨Well... she´s finally found her match, hasn´t she? Stop worrying about her. The security detail I´ve assigned her will watch over her and keep us informed. I´ve left only one person behind, and, believe me, he won´t need a gun to neutralise whoever dares come close to Chloe. I met him in Tibet, and he can kill a man with just two fingers,¨ Bruce reassured him

¨One of these days you´ll tell me what it is you do when you take off the mask of Bruce Wayne the entrepreneur. ¨

¨I drink, play roulette and pursue beautiful women, what else? ¨smirked Gotham´s billionaire.

¨There´s more to you than your playboy image. Don´t try to fool me, Bruce. You´re entitled to your secrets, but don´t pretend you don´t have them, ¨responded a sobered Lex before the ringtone of his mobile interrupted them. ¨Luthor. Good. We´re on our way. Don´t do anything until we get there. Is that clear? ¨he ordered with a tone of voice which left no doubt as to what would happen to the man on the other side of the apparatus if he dared disobey. ¨They´re moving, ¨he told Bruce gravely. 

¨Take this with you, ¨responded Gotham´s billionaire, unlocking a cabinet to hand his friend a Glock and a box of projectiles. 

Bruce took another gun for himself, which he stashed away in his jacket. He had no intention of using it. There were more effective and less lethal toys to fulfil the same purpose, but he had to save face in front of Lex. By the time they´d have to use them, Alfred would have brought the Batmobile and its arsenal to Smallville´s woods.

Lionel Luthor arrived at the Headquarters of Genome two hours before the scheduled transfer of the last group of inmates from Belle Reve. He had taken extra precautions, preferring to make use of the old labyrinth of underground corridors which had been dug by the government in the 1950´s. It took him six hours on foot and several stops along the way to get to his final destination, but he couldn´t afford to be seen and spoil the last stage of the project.

Dr. Dinsmore had promised him results before the month was over, and he was about to deliver. Apparently, threatening the guy with sending his daughter Emily away to an overseas LuthorCorp facility where he would never have access to her again had worked to perfection. Once the samples from the three last meteor freaks were obtained, the altered genetic map would be complete and the awakening could take place. They had been close, so close, the previous time, but they needed a few extra meteor-mutated genomes to make sure there was no organ failure or speeding up of the aging process.

¨Dr Dinsmore, ¨said the CEO of LuthorCorp with an authoritative voice which always made the scientist´s hair stand on end, ¨is everything ready? ¨

¨Yes, sir. The inmates are on their way and the prototype´s already been prepped. ¨

¨Prototype? ¨hissed Luthor Sr.

¨I´m... sorry, sir. It´s just that... ¨

¨You don´t think clones are real people, Dr Dinsmore. What would that make of Emily, then? ¨

¨It won´t happen again, Mr Luthor, ¨said Dinsmore, swallowing the lump in his throat and feeling his perspiration starting to soak the shirt under his pinafore.

¨I won´t stand a second failure, Dr, ¨responded the older man with a threatening voice.

¨Here come the subjects, ¨answered the scientist relieved.

¨Good. Take what you need and then, kill them. ¨

¨K... kill them? ¨ 

¨There mustn´t be any loose ends, doctor. ¨

¨But... why not erase their memories? ¨

¨I don´t trust the mind, doctor. We don´t know what or when it can start remembering. ¨

¨But the others? ¨

¨Terminated. A necessary sacrifice for a greater good. This person´s worth the sacrifice of every worthless meteor- infected criminal we´ve used for this project, ¨he said matter-of-factly, making the doctor wonder what Luthor Sr had planned for him and his team of scientists. ¨Start the procedure, ¨he ordered, looking at the clone on the gurney. ¨Johnson, ¨he added, addressing a security man, ¨you can bring her now. ¨

¨Damn! ¨exclaimed Lex under his breath when he realised where the inmates were being taken. ¨We´ve got a problem, ¨he spoke to Bruce on the radio. ¨Bruce, are you there? ¨ he repeated.

¨Sorry, sir, this is McGann, ¨another voice answered.

¨Where´s Wayne? ¨frowned Smallville´s billionaire.

¨He took some equipment and went ahead of us to do some reconnaissance, sir ¨ stated the senior member of Bruce´s team.

¨What the hell does he think he´s doing? ¨exploded the young CEO.

¨He´s well-trained, sir¨responded the hire gun.

¨Well, he won´t be able to do much I´m afraid. The headquarters are located in the underground nuclear silos. They´re strong enough to resist a blast of several kilotons. A set of picklocks won´t be enough to get us in. We´ll need a miracle.¨


	16. Going After the Devil Part II

**CHAPTER 13**: Going after the Devil (Part II )

Meanwhile, Bruce was sitting in the interior of his armoured Batmobile making a digital scan of the premises and cursing the elder Luthor for his cunning mind. The building was impenetrable from every angle. According to the blueprints, the most vulnerable point was the entrance to the tunnels, but it was too far away even for the capecrusader´s custom-made state-of-the-art vehicle to reach in time. The quickest way was the south entrance, which was immediately in front of them, but they didn´t have the equipment to blow it. Their combined fortunes were enough to buy several times the kilotons they needed to break an entry, but Smallville and three-quarters of Kansas would have felt the effects of nuclear radiation for years to come.

¨Mc Gann, ¨said Bruce on the radio. ¨We´ve got a problem. ¨

¨Yes, sir, Mr Luthor´s already informed me. What shall we do? Should we call everything off? ¨responded the veteran.

¨What has he told you? ¨

¨He said to wait for new instructions. ¨

Lex was fuming under his cool composure. In order not to give out their presence, they had had to let the inmates enter the premises alone, killing the possibility to sneak in before the south entrance could be sealed.

¨Lex, it´s Bruce. What do you say we do? ¨came Wayne´s voice on Lex´s radio.

¨Where are you? ¨snapped Luthor Jr.

¨A hundred metres away from the south entrance. ¨

¨We´ll have to wait and pray they use it to come out. It´s the only chance we have to get in. ¨

¨We may not be able to stop what´s in progress there. ¨

¨We´ll deal with it when the time comes, Bruce. For the time being... ¨

¨Wait! ¨Bruce cut him off.

¨What´s wrong? ¨

¨An alarm´s gone off. ¨

¨What? How can you hear it? The premises are sealed and are soundproof. ¨

¨I´m using a Wayne Enterprises satellite to get a thermal scan. ¨

¨Isn´t it supposed to be impenetrable? ¨

¨This building´s from the fifties, Lex. My technology isn´t that old-fashioned. ¨

¨I want one of those. ¨

¨We can build you one for a good price. ¨

¨What can you see? ¨

¨There´s a commotion down there. ¨

¨Boss! ¨came McGann´s voice on the radio. ¨The door´s opening. ¨

¨We´re going in! I repeat we´re going in, ¨ordered Lex to both teams.

* * *

Clark made one desperate attempt before the exposure to the meteor rocks which were being used in the project drained him. He charred the controls of the entrance door with his heat vision and prayed Lex and his friends could get in and save the day. He had done his best to live up to the promise he´d made to Chloe, but his body was failing him.

He had supersped into the premises alongside the inmates and had entered the toughened-glass case where the female body lay on a slate awaiting its awakening. The farm boy didn´t know what he had expected, but the woman´s identity had come as a shock.

* * *

¨Talk to me, ¨snapped Wayne on his mobile phone.

¨Bruce, I´m sorry. I´ve failed you, my friend, ¨came the anguished voice on the other side.

¨You´ve lost her, ¨he said matter-of-factly. ¨How did she get away? ¨

¨She didn´t. They knocked me out with a tranquiliser dart and took her away. ¨

¨And Lisbeth? ¨

¨She´s all right. Although, she´s blaming herself for the girl´s disappearance. ¨

¨Stay there. We´ll talk when I´m back. ¨

¨Bruce? ¨

¨I can´t talk right now, Indri, ¨he finished, hanging up the phone.

Wayne took a deep breath preparing himself to communicate the news to Lex on the radio. He hoped his friend wouldn´t go ballistic, but there was a chance Chloe would be driven to the lab. Although Bruce was used to altering strategies at the last minute when fighting crime in the streets of Gotham, he had never been in a situation in which things had gone so completely out-of-control in such a short time.

Lex had entered the underground lab surrounded by his team with Bruce´s in the rear. He shot a glance at the charred electronic pad next to the entrance and frowned. Something out of the ordinary had taken place. Lionel Luthor would have never jeopardised an operation such as this to save a few dollars on security measures. Lex was convinced the door hadn´t opened thanks to a miraculous short-circuit in the nick of time.

¨Lex, ¨boomed Bruce´s baritone voice in the young billionaire´s earphone, ¨he´s got her. ¨

¨How did this happen? ¨asked Lex through clenched teeth, feeling a sudden shortness of breath which reminded him of his childhood asthma attacks.

¨They shot my man a tranquiliser, ¨answered Bruce gravely. ¨It was the only way they could take him down. I think they´ve brought her to the lab, Lex. ¨

¨I´ll kill him, ¨stated Lex venomously, cutting off the radio signal.

¨Lex!¨exclaimed Gotham´s billionaire to no one. ¨Damn it! ¨

* * *

¨Now, Miss Sullivan, you´ll show us what you can do, ¨said Lionel Luthor with a wolfish grin.

¨I don´t know what you´re talking about, ¨responded Chloe, squirming uncomfortably as two of Luthor´s bodyguards tried to restrain her movements.

¨Come, come, Miss Sullivan. Enough of games. We both know what you´re capable of doing with those tears of yours. You´ve saved that sorry excuse of a reporter who happens to be your cousin. Now you´ll use them to give me back what should have never been taken away from, ¨he said, looking into the glass case with a lost look on his face and a hint of... was it love? No, it couldn´t be, thought Chloe. Lionel Luthor was incapable of any such feeling. ¨Come over here, Miss Sullivan, ¨he ordered, gesturing his men to bring her closer to the window overlooking the body which was lying peacefully on a gurney. ¨I want you to have a close look at her. Isn´t she beautiful? ¨

Chloe swallowed the lump in her throat as her eyes fell on the patrician brunette, and the ghastly truth dawned on her. The blonde felt tears well up in her green orbs because of what this could mean to Lex.

¨Save them for her, Miss Sullivan, ¨snapped LuthorCorp´s CEO, grabbing her ruthlessly by her arm.

¨Chl... Chloe... ¨gasped Clark, lying on the floor in excruciating pain.

¨Release her!¨ demanded Lex icily as he aimed the Glock at his father, ¨or I swear to God I´ll put a bullet in your head, ¨he added, cocking the pistol.

¨Here´s your other knight in shining armour, ¨laughed Lionel, tightening his grip on the scalpel he had put against Chloe´s neck. ¨Well, son, it´s time for you to choose. ¨

¨I´ve already chosen, dad, ¨he responded, moving slightly to the right to get a better angle.

¨L... Lex, ¨called out Clark faintly.

¨Clark? ¨asked a stunned billionaire. ¨What are you doing here? ¨

¨What do you think he is doing, Lex? What he always does: poking his nose in stuff that doesn´t concern him. ¨

¨What have you done to him? ¨asked Lex to his father with an accusing tone.

¨Nothing, ¨he shrugged his shoulders.

¨If you´ve done nothing to him, why is he in such a poor condition?¨

¨Help him, Lex, ¨whined Chloe as her eyes grew mistier.

¨Yes, Miss Sullivan. Tell my son what he´s always wanted to know about his old friend. ¨

¨Shut up! You won´t get away with this, ¨Lex tightened the hold on the Glock. ¨Bruce? ¨he asked on the radio, ¨come here. My men have already apprehended everyone. There´s a young man in urgent need of medical attention. ¨

¨Don´t you want to know the secret he´s been keeping from you all these years, son? ¨prodded Lionel.

¨You haven´t listened to me, dad. I want you to let Chloe go, ¨insisted Lex.

¨She means a lot to you, doesn´t she, Lex? I can certainly understand the feeling, ¨he smiled wistfully, shooting a sidelong glance at the glass case.

¨What... ¨started Lex with a strangled voice. ¨What have you... done? ¨he finished, feeling the tears prick his eyelids.

¨The only thing that could make us a family again. ¨

¨A family? ¨he echoed in disbelief.

¨Don´t tell me you wouldn´t have done the same if you had had the chance to bring your own son back, Lex. Oh, I know the secret you´ve been trying to hide from me for four years. But you seem to have forgotten it was me who taught you all the tricks, and you haven´t surpassed the master yet, ¨he grinned. ¨So what does it feel like to know LuthorCorp´s now got the technology that could also bring _him_ back to life with a few tears of the woman who helped you betray your own flesh and blood? ¨

¨You´re sick. ¨

¨She´s lied to you, Lex. She´s known Clark´s secret for years. ¨

¨Stop trying to manipulate me, you sick bastard. ¨

¨Order her to cry and you can have it all, Lex. Your mother, ¨he started his enumeration, looking at Lillian´s clone on the other side of the glass, ¨a family, power... the power to provide grieving parents, husbands and wives with the possibility to have their lost ones back. ¨

¨I already have a family and you´re delusional. ¨

¨Delusional? Unlike you, I don´t use empty justifications for my undercover projects. I´ve never played the card of patriotism to cover up my questionable moral choices.¨

¨Why? Why did you do it? ¨asked Lex with a catch in his voice.

¨You of all people should know what a man´s capable of out of desperation, Lex. I´m lost without her, ´answered Lionel, feeling the hand he had against Chloe´s neck tremble.

¨Mum´s dead, dad. You can´t bring her back. ¨

¨I can and I have, ¨snapped Lionel, boring his eyes into his son.

¨What do you mean you have? ¨responded Lex with a raspy voice.

¨The first clone died twenty-four hours after the procedure. That´s why we had to work on altering the genetic mapping with meteor-mutated genomes. The DNA helix had to be fortified to correct the imbalance. Her organs had shut down and the aging process had sped up out of control. But now... that´s been corrected. ¨

¨What do you need Chloe for? You didn´t use her the first time.¨

¨She and Moira Sullivan are the most powerful meteor-freaks in Smallville and you know it, Lex. She´s the only chance for Lillian to live. Now... what will your choice be, son? If you pull that trigger, Miss Sullivan dies, and you lose both your mother and the woman you love all over again. If you let Dr Dismore finish the procedure, you regain your mother´s unconditional love and Miss Sullivan lives in her forever. ¨

Chloe felt the blade of the scalpel starting to cut her flesh and the arms of the unquestionably deranged Lionel Luthor trapping her like a vice. A fleeting glance at Clark told her no help would come from him this time and that left Lex and his marksmanship- he was very good, but the probability of his being able to kill Lionel with one shot before the scalpel cut the blonde´s carotid was very slim. Moreover, Chloe didn´t want to make a patricide of Lex- a family stigma he had carried for years thanks to his dad.

Lex locked his steel blue-grey eyes with Chloe´s and saw every moment they had spent together play in his mind. He was aware there was only one shot and that if he failed, he would lose the chance of ever being happy. He would have given the world to have Lillian back in his life again but not like this; never like this.

¨No! ¨cried Chloe when she read the look in Lex´s eyes and heard the bullet leaving the chamber.

Everything happened in slow motion then. As the Glock was fired and the projectile travelled the distance from the barrel to Lex´s target, a metallic bat-shaped boomerang cut the air at incredible speed, knocking the scalpel off Lionel´s hand. Only Clark had been able to see the shape of the object or where it had come from- the man´s ability to throw boomerangs was extraordinary but, unfortunately, the strategy had placed Chloe directly in the path of Lex´s bullet. Clark cursed his Kryptonian weakness and- drawing strength from a supply he didn´t know he had- he pushed a mobile instrument table with his foot, praying the force would be enough to put Chloe out of harm´s way. It seemed God had chosen to spare Lex a new heartbreak because the second the table hit the blonde reporter from behind, she toppled over and fell face flat on the floor.

As soon as Lionel was disarmed and Chloe was safe, Bruce stormed into the room with some operatives.

¨Lex, my friend, everything´s under control now, ¨said Wayne, helping Clark stand up and walk to the door.

¨Take him away, ¨responded Smallville´s billionaire, looking at his father with a mixture of disgust and pain in his eyes. ¨Are you OK, Clark? ¨he asked, addressing his former friend with a speculative look.

¨I´ll be fine, Lex, ¨he said, leaning slightly on Wayne to keep up appearances.

¨What were you doing here, anyway? ¨ came Lex´s question as he let his eyes rest on Clark´s face, which was no longer ashen.

¨Helping my friends, ¨he responded, crossing looks with Chloe.

¨I´ll take him to the hospital, ¨ cut in Bruce.

¨Take care, Clark, ¨Lex told the farm boy. ¨Clark? ¨he called out as Bruce was leaving with the Kryptonian.

¨Yes? ¨asked the young Kent, turning around.

¨Thanks, ¨finished the bald CEO with the ghost of a smile.

A deadly silence had fallen on the lab and only a few distant sirens were heard. Chloe had her arms wrapped protectively around her body, trying to control the shaking which had suddenly 

seized her as the stress of the situation ended up being too much for her nerves. A stifled sob escaped her mouth and brought Lex out of his trance. His arms opened wide and Chloe rushed to them, clinging to him like the rock he had been all those years ago when her teenage infatuation with Clark had almost got her killed.

Lex felt her petite frame convulse in racking sobs and he thanked God for granting him a miracle in spite of his Luthor heritage. As his hands caressed Chloe´s back in a soothing motion, his eyes fell on the lifeless form of the woman still lying in the glass case. She looked so much like the mother he had loved and worshipped as a child that he could hardly breathe. He closed his eyes, smelled Chloe´s lemon-scented tresses and held her tighter, too afraid to let her go.

¨Lex, ¨Chloe said shakily, and Lex buried his nose in her hair, pressing a kiss on her temple, ¨are you OK?¨

The young billionaire couldn´t find the voice to reply. The conflicting emotions raging inside him were simply too much for him to verbalise. Chloe felt the tension coiled up in his body and raised her head to look at his tormented face.

¨He had no right, ¨murmured Lex in a strangled voice,¨no fckng right to bring her back again. Wasn´t it enough to put her through hell once? Why couldn´t he let her be happy for once? ¨he went on as the tears welled up in his eyes.

¨I´m sorry, Lex. I´m so sorry, ¨said Chloe, cupping his face in both hands, and saw Lex crumble before her eyes for the first time in her life.


	17. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

It was a sunny springtime morning, and Chloe felt the gentle flower-perfumed breeze of Montana caress her skin as she stood next to Lex under a group of oak trees- her hand enveloped in his warm grasp as the minister read the eulogy with which both their parents would finally rest in peace.

Much to Lex´s chagrin, Lionel hadn´t been prosecuted by Gotham´s DA office. His mental instability had convinced the authorities to commit him to a high-security asylum. It seemed unfair that after so much suffering and so many deaths, only the scientific team, and in all probability Lionel´s own son, would have to serve time- not everything had been said about the young tycoon´s fate and Chloe was still hopeful. However, if they were to live a happy and fulfilling life as the married couple they now were, they would have to make peace with the past- a past in which Lionel Luthor had played a major and tragic role.

Giving a Christian burial to Lillian´s clone had been the first of many steps to find closure. Lex had had everything arranged for the body to be deposited in the Memorial erected in Metropolis Cemetery and for the remains of the actual Lillian Luthor to be transported to her family´s ranch in Montana. Just as Lex had promised Chloe, Gabe Sullivan was also exhumed and brought to Lisbeth´s estate. It was only fitting that the two most important figures in both their lives rest next to the small baby, the fruit of the love which had survived the bravest of storms.

The minister closed the Holy Book, sealing the private ceremony, and Chloe leant into Lex, seeking his quiet strength and his warmth. It was a moment of communion shared only by Lillian´s mother, Lois, and their two closest friends- Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne- two special men who would become legends in their own right one day.

Lex looked at Chloe´s body pressed up against his flank- her head leaning on his left upper arm, basking in their closeness- and felt his heart soar. How many nights he had spent awake, dreaming of the day when he would call her his once again! Countless nights when he could only see a pitch black void in front of him, an ominous path that led straight to the destiny he had always fought against. And days... days of agony when he had seen her smile to her best friend that luminous smile which used to be his. Days of endless torture when he had looked into those green orbs and seen pure unadulterated hatred- a look so different from the one in which he used to get lost every time they became one.

He heard the clergyman say ¨Amen¨ and a welcome peace washed over him. He raised his eyes and for a second his heart stopped beating. There, beyond the white marble angel which guarded Julian´s grave, stood Lillian amidst the blue-bells and the lilies. She looked at him with those same blue-grey eyes he saw each time he faced a mirror. She seemed young, healthy, carefree; tendrils of her reddish brown hair played in the gentle breeze and a smile came to her mouth as her gaze drifted to the young woman whose hand- now wearing her son´s wedding band- was still enveloped in his.

¨Lex, ¨said Chloe softly, seeing an indescribable look of peace rare in his usually stormy blue-grey eyes, ¨is everything all right? ¨

¨It is now, ¨he responded with a quiet smile, bringing her closer to press a soft kiss on her mouth as Lillian´s graceful figure vanished into the fields of flowers she used to roam as a child.

_**THE END**_


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